United States » Alexander Springs |
| Overview | Location & Specifics | Conditions | Resources | Nearby Systems |
Portions of the following information were taken from Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 66.
Alexander Spring is approximately 37 miles east of Ocala in the Ocala National Forest. From the intersection of US 441 (Magnolia Avenue) and SR 40 (Silver Springs Road) in Ocala travel east on SR 40 for approximately 31.8 miles to the intersection with SR 19. Turn south (right) onto SR 19 and travel approximately 9.4 miles to the intersection with CR 445. Turn east (left) onto CR 445 and travel approximately 5 miles to Alexander Springs Recreation Area on the north (left) side of the road. Follow signs to parking area.
Description - Alexander Spring issues from a conical depression and has a large spring pool that measures 300 ft north to south and 258 ft east to west. The depth is 25 ft. The bottom is mostly sand with limestone exposed near the vent. A vertical ledge running north to south occurs near the vent. There are multiple vents in a tight cluster. The water is clear and blue. There is a large boil on the pool surface over the vent. Native aquatic grasses are plentiful. Thin algae patches are present on limestone substrate. High ground to the south rises gently to 12 ft above the water level. A rock wall forms the south shoreline. There is a mixed hardwood and palm forest around the spring. Alexander Spring Run flows east approximately 8 river miles until reaching the St. Johns River. Alexander Spring is the only 1st magnitude spring in the federal parks and forests system (Follman, personal communication, 2004).
Utilization - Alexander Spring is in the Ocala National Forest. Camping, swimming, scuba diving, and canoeing are available with full facilities.
| Date | Submitter | Visbility | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/17/2021 | Nathan Sweeny | Clear/Algae | Only a handful of people were at the site when we were there. The water was perfectly clear, with high flow from the "cave". We were there testing some new equipment and with a new diver and it was a great time. One thing to note: I came face to face with a small crocodile in the lilies near the back shore. We were both just as surprised to see each other. The park ranger seemed humored by the encounter and acknowledged that they were present, but won't hurt anyone. It was actually quite an awesome experience. |
| 5/10/2016 | Drew | 25 | This place gets CROWDED on the weekends. Do yourself a favor and go in the morning on a weekday. no real cave systems; the small cave opening on the south side of the cave forks immediately - not sure if there is a passage to the right, but there is a small squeezable passageway that leads back out to the spring vent. |
| 7/3/2009 | Rodger Taylor | 60 | Went with a buddy to check out his new dive gear before the 4th of July rush. Park was busy but not crowded. Many OW divers. Water clear but stirred up at the vents. Found small shark teeth at small vent, many worms found by hand fanning, fed to blue gill fish. Very sandy. This spring is great for new divers or for check out dives on new equipment. |
| 11/23/2008 | Fed | 100 | Lots of open water divers, maybe around 20 or so. Spring was silted up like usual but still good viz. Flow is strong out of the vents. Explored the nearby lillypads and saw lots of big bass, turtles and armored catfish. The 7ft gator made an appearance! Had fun digging sand out of my hair for the next two days. |
| 2/23/2008 | LittleJohn | 100 | We had 9 divers show up just after the rain storm. Good flow coming out of the vents. For the most part we were just checking out new equipment and cooking some on brats on the grill. Water is down about a foot but still a good spring to check equipment, and work with new divers |
| 3/21/2007 | Dave | 100 | We made another trip for checking out equipment. Instructor there with new student getting certified. Approximately 10-12 foot alligator settled into the boil on the sand near us. Got some good pictures, then left him to have the spring. The Rangers said we should not go back in until he vacated the springs. He soon left, we went back in and two more big gators showed up, we left. Did get the gear checked out. |
| 2/21/2007 | Dave | 100 | We were the only divers on a Wednesday so the water was extremely clear. Park area was almost empty of people also. Looked around for turtles but none to be found. There was an enormous number of weird prehistoric looking black fish all around the vent on the sandy slope. We were checking out equipment and it was a great dive and day. |
| Description | Type | Date | Author | Remarks |
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| System | Depth | Cave | Cavern | OW | Last Report | Distance (mi) |
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