San Marcos Springs
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

San Marcos Springs is the second largest natural cluster of springs in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. The springs are located in the city of
San Marcos, Texas San Marcos () is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city is a part of the Greater Austin, Greater Austin Metropolitan Area. San Marcos's limits extend into Caldwell County, Texas, Caldwell and Guadalupe County, T ...
, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
and 46 miles (74 km) northeast of
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
. Although Spring Lake is highly protected, it is accessible to visitors through the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, a program of
Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
, which offers glass-bottom boat tours among other opportunities to explore and learn about the ecosystem.


Geology

The San Marcos Springs is an area of artesian outflow from the
Edwards Aquifer The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it is the source of drinking water for two million people, and is the primary water su ...
along the Balcones Escarpment. More than 200 springs flow from three large fissures and other smaller openings in the rock. The springs provide most of the water for the
San Marcos River The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs, the location of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (formerly Aquarena Springs), in San Marcos, Texas. The springs are home to several threatened or endangered species, inclu ...
, which flows southward from the springs' location. The springs have never been known to stop flowing. The average flow is 152 ft³/s (4,300 liters/s); the lowest recorded flow of 46 ft³/s (1,302 L/s) occurred in 1956. In 1849, former
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
vice president Edward Burleson built a dam just downstream from the springs; the resulting lake, known as Spring Lake, inundated the springs.


History

Archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
believe that the San Marcos Springs area may be the oldest continually inhabited site in North America, with sediment core evidence of human activity dating back approximately 11,500 years. Excavations at this location uncovered Paleo Indian artifacts dating back as much as 19,000 years. The
Coahuiltecan The Coahuiltecan were various small, autonomous bands of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans who inhabited the Rio Grande valley in what is now northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. The various Coahuiltecan groups were hunter ga ...
refer to these springs as their origin, and called them "Ajehuac Yana" ("spirit spring"). The
Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe from Oklahoma and Texas. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct language, extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Tonkawa ...
called the springs ''Canocanayesatetlo'' ("warm water"), a reference to the springs' relatively warm 72 °F (22 °C) year-round temperature. The first Europeans to see the springs were probably members of the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition of 1709. Later, the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
mission San Xavier and the failed settlement of San Marcos de Neve were situated there.
White American White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...
s began settling the area in 1835, and the springs became a major stop on the
Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...
. From 1928 until 1996, a resort and amusement park known as Aquarena Springs was located at the site.
Texas State University-San Marcos Texas State University (TXST) is a public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to be one of the largest univer ...
purchased the surrounding area in 1994, and the site is now known as The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.


Flora and fauna

This region is a dividing line for certain species' occurrences. For example, the iconic
California Fan Palm ''Washingtonia filifera'' pygmy date palm, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (i ...
, ''
Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'' pygmy date palm, the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (i ...
'' is found only west of the
Balcones Fault The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...
, which runs through San Marcos Springs. San Marcos Springs is home to eight threatened or
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
: the Fountain darter, the
Texas Blind Salamander The Texas blind salamander (''Eurycea rathbuni'') is a rare and endangered cave-dwelling troglobite amphibian native to San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, specifically the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer. This species resembles the olm, a ...
, the San Marcos Salamander, the
San Marcos Gambusia The San Marcos gambusia (''Gambusia georgei'') is a likely extinct species of ''Gambusia'' from the family Poeciliidae that was found only in the San Marcos Springs of Central Texas. The fish has not been seen since 1983. Etymology The specific ...
, Texas Wild Rice, the Comal Springs Dryopid Beetle, the Comal Springs Riffle Beetle, and the Peck's Cave Amphipod. Federal requirements to protect the species' environment, and the resulting demands those requirements place on water from the Edwards Aquifer, have led to several legal and political battles throughout the region. Pursuant to the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Restoration Plan, researchers and volunteers operating out of the
Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...
Meadows Center for Water and the Environment remove non-native species of aquatic vegetation and re-plant native species such as Texas wild rice, resulting in a 53% increase in Texas wild rice since 2015.


References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* Roy L. Lehman, Ruth O'Brien, Tammy White. 2005. ''Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend'', Texas A&M University Press, 352 pages , * Gregg Eckhardt


Line notes


External links


''Take Me To The River'' webcast
from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department * *
Origin and Characteristics of Discharge at San Marcos Springs Based on Hydrologic and Geochemical Data (2008-10), Bexar, Comal, and Hays Counties, Texas
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

Story of Aquarena Springs Resort (San Marcos Springs)
{{Texas Bodies of water of Hays County, Texas San Marcos, Texas Springs of Texas