Wakulla
Springs State Park is located in Wakulla County in north Florida,
14 miles south of Tallahassee, the State capital. It is located
on State Road 267 at State Road 61. Wakulla County, which includes
Wakulla Springs, was established from a portion of Leon County
in 1843. Wakulla is probably of Indian derivation. It may contain
the word kala, meaning "spring of water" in some Indian dialects
or wahkola, meaning "loon" in Hitchiti, a language of the Creek
Indians. Another reported origin of the spring’s name is that
it comes from a Seminole word that most likely means "Mysteries
of Strange Water."
Wakulla Springs State Park, as we know it today, started taking
form when financier Edward Ball built a Spanish-style lodge and
resort in 1937, and eventually the State of Florida Department
of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks,
took over control and maintenance of the park.
The
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park spans 2,860 acres, with
the bowl of the spring covering approximately three acres. This
is one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs.
The water temperature remains relatively constant year-round at
about 70 degrees. The spring forms the head of the Wakulla River,
which flows through old-growth cypress swamps. In the upland portion
of the park, floodplain and hardwood forests are present. The
spring recorded a record peak flow on April 11, 1973. The flow
was measured at 14,325 gallons per second; this is equal to 1.2
billion gallons per day. The network of caves and the spring cavern
have been explored to depths of 300 feet and a distance of 1200
feet. Professional dive teams have found that the cavern branches
into four conduits, but the source of the spring still remains
a mystery. Fossilized mastodon bones can be seen in the spring
depths from glassbottom boats. These fossilized remains were reported
in 1850 by Sarah Smith, and scientific interest in the springs
has dramatically increased since then. Scientists have identified
the remains of at least nine other extinct Ice Age mammals.
Wakulla
Springs State Park is located in Wakulla County in north Florida,
14 miles south of Tallahassee, the State capital. It is located
on State Road 267 at State Road 61. Wakulla County, which includes
Wakulla Springs, was established from a portion of Leon County
in 1843. Wakulla is probably of Indian derivation. It may contain
the word kala, meaning "spring of water" in some Indian dialects
or wahkola, meaning "loon" in Hitchiti, a language of the Creek
Indians. Another reported origin of the spring’s name is that
it comes from a Seminole word that most likely means "Mysteries
of Strange Water."
The
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park spans 2,860 acres, with
the bowl of the spring covering approximately three acres. This
is one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs.
The water temperature remains relatively constant year-round at
about 70 degrees. The spring forms the head of the Wakulla River,
which flows through old-growth cypress swamps. In the upland portion
of the park, floodplain and hardwood forests are present. The
spring recorded a record peak flow on April 11, 1973. The flow
was measured at 14,325 gallons per second; this is equal to 1.2
billion gallons per day. The network of caves and the spring cavern
have been explored to depths of 300 feet and a distance of 1200
feet. Professional dive teams have found that the cavern branches
into four conduits, but the source of the spring still remains
a mystery. Fossilized mastodon bones can be seen in the spring
depths from glassbottom boats. These fossilized remains were reported
in 1850 by Sarah Smith, and scientific interest in the springs
has dramatically increased since then. Scientists have identified
the remains of at least nine other extinct Ice Age mammals.