October 18, 2010 - Ball Mill Resurgence Natural Area

For something to do yesterday we drove to the Ball Mill Resurgence Natural Area in Perry County and took the hike. In the forty plus years we have lived here we had never visited this site. Here is the sign as you enter.

I had to look up the L-A-D Foundation when I got home. It is a non-profit established by Leo Drey to protect natural areas in Missouri. It is quite a story. You can read all about it ladfoundation.org. It is really worth a read. Thank goodness we have people like Mr. Drey preserving our natural areas.

We started the hike not knowing the length of the the trail since no pamphlets were available. Here is a picture as you start the hike.

It is very serene and here were no sounds except the occasional bird chirping. At the end of this wide path there is this plaque as you turn on to a narrow dirt path the rest of the way. I had never head of Mr. Vineyard but I thank him for his work.

You walk quite a distance to a fork in the path. Interestingly there was no sign about which way to proceed but looking to the right about fifty feet up the trail we saw an informational sign post so we headed that way.

This sign tells you that Perry County has more caves (over 630) than anywhere else in the state. It shows the various sinkholes that you will pass on your hike and it explains why there are sinkholes, which are depressed areas funneling water into an underground water system.  Here are some picture of the various sinkholes we walked by. They are a little disguised by all the fallen leaves.

The path slowly descends until you reach a creek bed that leads to the Ball Mill Resurgence spot which sits below a 100 foot limestone cliff.  What happens is the water enters the sinkholes all over the area and runs underground. At a resurgence area it builds up great pressure and blows out the water. The water coming out from underground then creates an above ground creek. 

Here is a picture of the limestone cliff as you approach the resurgence area walking in the (now) dry creek bed.

Some pictures of the rock cliff just above the resurgence area.

The leaves at the bottom of this picture cover the area where the water blows out.

Here is a picture of the (now) dry creek bed leading away from the resurgence area. It is quite wide.

It is called Ball Mill because the power of the water is so great that it has rounded off the rocks as they boiled out of the ground over the centuries. Here is a picture of some of the rounded rocks caught on a ledge about fifteen feet above the resurgence depression. There are also many carried into the creek bed.

The return hike was much shorter but mostly uphill. There was another car at the beginning of the trail when we arrived but we never saw another person and that car was gone when we got back. This hike was an interesting, informative, and great way to spend a Covid-safe afternoon.