Silver Springs, Ocala

It is possible that this is the most powerful spring in the world.

A huge river from the underworld

Northeast from Ocala city is a patch of natural Florida jungle with a true miracle located in the middle of it: a spring of gargantuan size which is discharged from a deep blue funnel, forming a wonderful lake and a fast-flowing medium-sized river, which smaller ships can navigate.

Every second, this unbelievable spring discharges 8.4 cubic meters of crystal clear water. This amount of water would be enough for the everyday needs of some 6 million average citizens of Earth!

The water has a constant temperature of 23 °C and comes from five underwater spouts and numerous smaller sources.

Source of water

Florida has several of the most powerful springs in the world. This is determined by two factors:

• Abundant rainfall – an average of 1360 mm per year. London gets 580 mm per year.
• Limestone ground – porous limestone filtrates water but it is also slowly dissolved, allowing for the artesian water to form channels and even large voids filled with fast-flowing streams of clear water. In places where these streams reach the surface, we see enormous, powerful springs.

Silver Springs discharges from a 20 meter long and 3.6-meter high cavern. There are numerous smaller discharges nearby as well.

Elephants in spring water

The Silver Springs is filled with life. The unusual conditions have formed an unusual biotope.

Even more interesting are the remnants of extinct animals found in the spring deposits. Near the springs and even in the stream formed by springs, petrified remains of extinct elephants, mastodons and other animals have been found that are more than 10000 years old. These animals came to the springs in prehistoric times and drowned there.

The tragedy of the past creates an entertaining scientific adventure for today: What could be more exciting than searching for the remains of extinct mastodons in the crystal clear water of a gargantuan spring?!

Indian shrine becomes a movie star

This unusual monument of nature has been shrine for local Indians for many generations.

Floating over the spring in a boat with a transparent bottom is an unusual experience. The water is as clear as the air and the bottom of the lake feels, not 12 meters deep but, within touch. The warm water is teaming with colorful fishes and plants. The lake itself is beautiful: the deep blue, clear body of water is surrounded by natural jungle.

This unusual beauty excited the explorers of this area and enterprising Americans developed a business selling this beauty: a specific theme park entirely devoted to this miracle of nature with a contemporary name: Silver Springs Nature Theme Park. The history of this park started shortly after the Seminole Indians were “pacified”. In the 1860s, entrepreneur Hubbard H. Hart managed to get conventional steamboats (first was stern-paddled steamboat “James Burt”) into Silver Springs. This undertaking was highly successful as numerous tourists flocked to see this unusual natural monument. In 1878, Hullam Jones introduced glass-bottom boats. Soon hotels were being built and other tourism-related businesses grew around the spring.

The whole world has seen the spring in movies about the adventures of Tarzan: in the 1930s and 1940s six Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller were filmed here. This comfortable location (after all production teams love nice hotels too!) has also been used for numerous other movies.

In 1938, the unusually clear spring water-inspired photographer Bruce Mozert create a series of unusual pictures where people were underwater… but behaving as if there was no water! He continued this for 45 years, creating numerous exciting pictures of extremely high quality.

Today Silver Springs represent an unusual cocktail of man-made tourist attractions (e.g. the World of Bears, Twister flume ride, etc.) and the unsurpassed wonder of nature in the spring itself.

References

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
2. Gene M.Burnett. Florida’s Past: People and Events That Shaped The State. 1991.
3. Silver Springs in Florida, website
4. Silver Springs Near Ocala, FL – 02239500, USGS. Accessed on August 27, 2023.

Silver Springs are included in the following article: