Lower Birch Spring
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Lower Birch Spring sits on BLM ground in Owyhee County, Idaho, in the Bruneau Field Office's territory and about twenty-six miles from Murphy, the nearest town the record names. Open access, per the record. Lukewarm water, bathwater on the cool side, with nothing about it that needs a warning. The chemistry on record was sampled in 1973 and nothing newer is on file.
A road with no name on record comes within a few hundred feet. This is dry Owyhee country managed by the Bureau of Land Management, ordinary public land without special protection, at a moderate elevation. Winters are mild and snow is light, a couple of feet in a normal winter, while rain is scarce through the year.
Winter gets the record's vote, which fits a dry, low place. Silver City Campground is the closest on file at about twenty miles. The water poses no heat risk. BLM land means public access, and the record agrees it is open, though the road in is unnamed, so navigation is on you.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Lower Birch Spring.
- Setting
- Valley floor
- Gentle slopes rise on both sides.
- Highest ground nearby
- 221 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the south
A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 56% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
The water at Lower Birch Spring is neutral (pH 7.2).
This small campground is located in a partially restored 19th-century mining town. Please plan to bring your own water. Don't use the water running through the campground from Jordan Creek because it may contain mercury from prior mining activity in the area.
Springs Near Lower Birch Spring
More Springs Around 77°F
Neutral Springs (pH ~7.2)
Hike 4 waterfalls near Lower Birch Spring
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Lower Birch Spring, Idaho.