WWQP Bulletin Board Chat

Florida Springs

Oh, gosh, now I'm supposed to be some type of expert. Yes, the springs are all fresh water. I suppose that years ago the indians found them and lived around them for the fresh, cold water.
Although I have only visited a few, they are all supposed to be 72 degrees year round. Most of them have indian names. We have a State of Florida State Park guide (FloridaStateParks.org) which lists all the parks devided in regions. Not all the parks are springs, and not all the springs are state parks, some are privately owned. Silver Springs is probably the most famous spring, because years ago the Tarzan movies were filmed there. The land around the Silver Spring is privately owned, there are the glass bottom boats there. The river that runs out of the spring is called the Silver River, which is a beautiful place, and open to the public. I have have seen 1 or two small gators there (we were in our kayaks) they are mostly hiding in the weeds, and fallen logs and don't bother anyone. I wouldn't take my small dog there, or swim there.(This is located in the Ocala, Fla. region, which is famous for horse farms, and is also a big retirement area for snow birds.)

The northwest, northeast, and central regions of Fla. have the most springs, as far as I can tell.
There is even a Ponce de Leon Spring, named after Juan Ponce de Leon who led the first Spanish expedition to Fla. in 1513. This was thought to be his "fountain of youth". This is located a long way from St. Augustine, on US hwy. 10 between Marianna and Pensacola.
Some of the springs are thought to be connected underground, and most all of them in the North part of the state feed into Suwannee River. We were so disapointed when we found the river is the color of strong tea, due to the leaves and fallen trees.

We have also been to Blue Springs, Manatee Blue Springs (in a different area) and Rainbow Springs. Since we have only taken up kayaking in the last few years, we are still exploring.
To make things even more confusing, some of the names of the springs are similar. Thee is a De Leon Spring, not to be confused with the Ponce De Leon Spring, in another area.

That is about the extent of my knowledge on the subject. I believe all the rivers in Fla. come from the springs and flow either into the Gulf of Mexico, or a lake, or some to the Atlantic ocean.
Fishermen love the rivers and lakes.
I'm going to post on the other board about costumes I volunteered to make for the "Peter Pan" play at our church, and need advice.
Sara in Fla. ---who in no way is any kind of expert on the subject

posted by Sara in Florida @ 3:03 PM