Has anybody here ever seen this before? A tree over a spring

I'm curious if anybody here has witnessed this. It's in the corner of my lot. It's across the creek, and it is the biggest tree I've ever seen in person. Maybe four grown guys could lock hands around it, maybe not. At the base of the tree there is a hollow where rocks are piled up, and from the rocks is issuing a spring which feeds into the creek. I think the rocks were put there by old-timers to protect the spring. And I am wondering, did the tree tap a spring?

Joe Banks wrote:I'm curious if anybody here has witnessed this. It's in the corner of my lot. It's across the creek, and it is the biggest tree I've ever seen in person. Maybe four grown guys could lock hands around it, maybe not. At the base of the tree there is a hollow where rocks are piled up, and from the rocks is issuing a spring which feeds into the creek. I think the rocks were put there by old-timers to protect the spring. And I am wondering, did the tree tap a spring?

Whoa! that is the coolest! Candidate for zone 5? What kind of tree is it?

Myron Platte wrote:

Joe Banks wrote:I'm curious if anybody here has witnessed this. It's in the corner of my lot. It's across the creek, and it is the biggest tree I've ever seen in person. Maybe four grown guys could lock hands around it, maybe not. At the base of the tree there is a hollow where rocks are piled up, and from the rocks is issuing a spring which feeds into the creek. I think the rocks were put there by old-timers to protect the spring. And I am wondering, did the tree tap a spring?

Whoa! that is the coolest! Candidate for zone 5? What kind of tree is it?

I don't know the kind of tree. In fact it has some vines growing on it, which I'm thinking about hacking away when I go back there tomorrow. If the tree dies it will be dangerous beneath it, because the high branches are like trees themselves. My stepfather might come Sunday and if I can get him safely across the creek I could have him take a picture with his smart phone and email it to me. Then someone here could identify it! I just can't figure how a tree could grow on a spring, so it must have tapped it at some point with its roots, right?
If I can get somebody tech-savvy there, I'll definitely bring a picture to this thread.
Ah, and I'm zone 7 (NC).

I was talking about Permaculture zones. That tree and spring are a beauty spot that is difficult to access.

You say that trees is enormous. It didn’t have to sprout in the spring. It could have started growing a foot away, and as it got bigger, engulfed the spring.