Waconda Spring was a natural artesian spring on the Solomon River in north-central Kansas, near present-day Glen Elder and Cawker City, rising from a travertine cone built by its own mineral deposits. Known as Great Spirit Spring, it was sacred to many Native peoples of the Great Plains, especially in Pawnee tradition, and offerings were left in its waters. First recorded by Zebulon Pike in 1806, it later became a settler health resort whose mineral water was bottled and promoted for its medicinal qualities. The spa prospered into the twentieth century until Glen Elder Dam and Waconda Reservoir submerged the spring by 1970.