Le sol calcaire et les pluies abondantes permettent la présence de ses nombreuses sources, elle forment ensuite des rivières qui vont continuer leur chemin vers l’océan. Dans ses rivières on trouve d'ailleurs de nombreuses espèces comme le Manatee qui y passent l'hiver.
Nous avons choisi d'aller a Ichetucknee, ce site avait l'avantage d'avoir deux sources, une rivière, un sentier et la possibilité de faire du tubing. La source la plus proche du parking Ichetucknee Spring est celle ou il y a le plus de monde, peu profonde pour la majorité elle est très bien pour les familles avec enfants.
To me Florida isn't so much the white sandy beaches as it is the springs. The Florida Springs are well known, they are everywhere on the Central and Northern parts of Florida. I have those memories from 1997, when we crosses many Southern States with my GodMom, I remember Jupiter Spring, the spring with cement, the one where we could see the water pushing the sand, and other one partly in a rive, I have so many pictures.
The limestone soil and the abundance of rain allows the presence of so many springs, they then turn into river that continue their route into the ocean. Many species can be found in those rivers such as the Manatee during winter.
We picked Ichetucknee, this site had the advantage to have two springs, a river, a trail and the option to go tubing down the river. The closes spring to the parking lot is Ichetucknee Spring which makes it the crowded one, mostly shallow it's great for families with children.
Going away from the Spring and following the trail will get you to the tubing launching pad. It was very inviting but it takes 2-4 hours to go down the river depending on the arrival chosen, so something to do an other time. To do tubing, tube rental are available outside of the park, the entrance fee is also different: $5 per person going down the river versus $6 for a vehicle full of swimmers. But even without tubing we could walk around and enjoy the beauty of the river fed by the two springs: Ichetucknee and Blue Spring.
This clear water is so tempting. Often rivers are brown here because of the tannins from the Bald Cyprus, so it's a real gift to see this.
Le point plus clair c'est le centre de la source, il y a d'ailleurs des grottes sous-marines que les plongeurs certifies peuvent explorer durant l'hiver. Si vous regardez la photo vous verrez peut etre avec les vagues la force du courant. 1,8 millions de mètres cubes d'eau sortent de cette source tous les jours.
But my favorite spring was Blue Spring, the one for which it's necessary to walk a bit, once there while on the deck and through the trees, one can see that.
The lightest spot is the center of the spring, there is in fact an under water cave in which certified divers can go during the winter months. If you look at the picture you may see the wave forming the current. 65 millions cubes of water come out of this spring everyday.
Il y a tout de même quelques sections ou on a pied, et pour vous montrer la clarté de l'eau voici une photo prise sous l'eau.
When we put our feet in the water it felt so cold. Yet the spring is at 72F on average, but when it's 95F outside it's a temperature shock. However once in the spring we didn't want to leave anymore. This section is far deeper (especially the entrance to the cave) the main advantage was that there were much fewer people in the water.
There are a few section were we could touch the ground, and to show you how clear the water is, here is a picture taken underwater.
The entrance to the cave.
We could see the sunlight hitting the sand at the bottom, weird feeling to be floating above this hole. It was however difficult to take pictures because of the strength of the current and the fact that it pushed particles to the surface. But even without diving mask and tuba it was incredible.
If you go to Florida between spring and fall, stop at least in one spring, not only is it the best way to cool down but the landscape is so amazing.