Travertine Nature Center Trail

The Travertine Nature Center Trail introduces visitors to one of the most geologically unique areas in the National Park System, where freshwater springs and sulfurous mineral springs emerge side by side within a few hundred feet of each other in a phenomenon found at very few locations in North America. The fresh springs produce cold clear water while the adjacent brine springs bubble with mineral-laden water containing sulfur, bromide, and other dissolved salts, creating a chemical landscape that attracted Native Americans for centuries before European contact for its perceived healing properties. The Chickasaw Nation and other tribes regarded the springs as sacred, and the area was known throughout the southern plains as a place of renewal and medicine. The trail winds through travertine creek bottomland where the mineral-rich spring water has deposited layered calcium carbonate formations along the streambed. Interpretive panels at the Nature Center explain the geological processes creating this unusual dual-spring phenomenon. The lush riparian vegetation along Travertine Creek provides excellent habitat for birds, and the clear spring-fed waters support populations of native fish species adapted to the cool mineral-rich environment found only in this small corner of south-central Oklahoma.