SAN FELIPE SPRINGS. San Felipe Springs, the third largest springs in Texas, is a group of springs that extends two miles along San Felipe Creek northeast of Del Rio in Val Verde County (centered at 29°22'N, 100°52' W). The water rises under artesian pressure through a fault in the rock. In 1590 Gaspar Castaño de Sosa stopped here; he was followed by other Spanish explorers in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. A mission was established in 1808 and followed by the settlement of San Felipe del Rio (now Del Rio) in 1834. The springs were also used by cavalry and stagecoaches in the 1800s. The springs are the sole water supply for the city of Del Rio and Laughlin Air Force Base. A historical marker is located at the springs. In 1977 the average flow was over 63,200 gallons per minute. The average flow from 1889 to 1977 was 41,080 gallons per minute. Amistad International Reservoir on the Rio Grande to the west has increased the flow of San Felipe Springs since its impoundment in 1968. It has provided additional recharge water and diverted part of the flow of Goodenough and other inundated springs to San Felipe Springs.
