Qualla: Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: Introduction https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ In the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas, where summer temperatures exceed 100°F and water is precious, there's a pool. Not a chlorinated rectangle behind a hotel - a 1.3-acre spring-fed wonder, holding three million gallons of 72-degree water, clear enough to see the bottom 25 feet down. The springs have flowed for thousands of years, creating an oasis that's now Balmorhea State Park. You can swim here, dive here, float in water that emerges from the earth at 15 million gallons per day. You'll share the pool with endangered Comanche Springs pupfish and an endangered species of aquatic snail. The pool is simultaneously a swimming hole and a refuge - recreation and conservation somehow coexisting in water too precious for either to surrender.

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: The Springs https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ San Solomon Springs have flowed for millennia, fed by the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer that underlies much of West Texas. The springs produce roughly 15-26 million gallons daily, emerging at a constant 72-76°F regardless of season or air temperature. The flow created a desert oasis, s...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--the-springs.mp3 0:06 2 full Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: The Pool https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ The CCC-built swimming pool captures spring flow in a 1.3-acre basin - the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool by some measures. Depths range from 3 to 25 feet; the deep areas attract scuba divers. The pool has no chlorine; the constant flow of fresh spring water makes chemi...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--the-pool.mp3 0:06 3 full Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: The Endangered https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ The pool hosts two endangered species: the Comanche Springs pupfish and the endangered phantom cave snail. The pupfish evolved in the isolated springs of West Texas; as other springs dried up from agricultural pumping, populations collapsed. Balmorhea is now a critical refuge. Th...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--the-endangered.mp3 0:06 4 full Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: The Threat https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ Groundwater pumping threatens the springs. Agricultural and oil field use has drawn down the aquifer; some nearby springs have stopped flowing entirely. A proposed fracking operation in 2016 sparked fierce opposition from conservationists and park users; the project was eventuall...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--the-threat.mp3 0:06 5 full Balmorhea: The West Texas Oasis Where You Can Swim With the Endangered: Visiting Balmorhea State Park https://qualla.com/balmorhea-spring-pool/ Balmorhea State Park is located in Toyahvale, Texas, roughly 40 miles south of Interstate 10 via Balmorhea. The pool is open year-round for day use; admission is charged. Peak season is summer, when the 72-degree water provides dramatic relief from triple-digit air temperatures. ...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/w/0/balmorhea-spring-pool-wk/9tw0-balmorhea-the-west-texas-oasis-where-you-can-swim--visiting-balmorhea-state-park.mp3 0:06 6 full