Florida Springs

North-central Florida sits atop one of the world's most extensive karst aquifer systems, and where that aquifer meets the surface it produces crystalline freshwater springs that pour out at a constant 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Ginnie Springs, Devil's Den, Blue Spring, and Ichetucknee are the headline venues, but hundreds of smaller systems honeycomb the limestone beneath the cypress forests. Visibility regularly exceeds 100 feet in the open spring basins, and trained cave divers can penetrate passages that stretch for miles into the rock. Manatees shelter in Blue Spring during winter months. These are among the most demanding diving environments on Earth — cave sections require full cave certification, appropriate redundant equipment, and a healthy respect for zero-visibility silt-out risk.