Summary of Features
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By Water: From downtown High Springs, drive northwest on U.S. 27/SR 20 about 2.5 miles to where the highway crosses the Santa Fe River. A launch ramp and parking area are just past the river on the right (north) side of the road. Canoe about 1.75 miles downstream to Poe Springs County Park on the left. Look for picnic enclosures and a sign for the park. Alternatively, put in at the boat ramp in Poe Spring County Park and go upriver about 1/3 mile to the spring.
For maps, latitude/longitude data, driving directions, satellite imagery, and topographic representations as well as weather conditions at this spring, go to Greg Johnson's informative "Florida Springs Database" web site at the following address: http://www.ThisWaytothe.Net/springs/floridasprings.htm#Florida
Spring Description
Flow from at least three vents creates a circular pool that is about
80 feet in diameter, and about 18 feet deep at the deepest (and most powerful)
vent. Water flows from limestone openings. The main opening
is several feet across and large enough to admit a diver. The pool
bottom is sandy, and water is very clear with a tint that varies from blue
to green depending on conditions. The flow creates a shallow run
(2-4 feet deep) that flows about 200 feet and which is about 40 feet wide.
A
retaining wall has been constructed on the north end of the spring,
with an artificial beach and concrete steps leading to the water.
The south end of the spring is swampy forest.
Rosenau et al., 1977 note there are several seeps and small springs in the vicinity of Poe (p. 63). One such spring is located 250 feet downstream of where the Poe Spring run enters the Santa Fe River, also on the south bank of the Santa Fe. The spring is adjacent to the bank and consists of three small flows from openings in small (1-2 feet in diameter) limestone boulders at a depth of about 18 inches. Each vent creates a small slick, and the three vents are in an area perhaps 6 feet in diameter. The water is clear, but the bottom and limestone are covered in dark algae and other plant growth, and the openings were not visible. The springs were about 10 feet from the bank, which rises a few feet in an area of hardwood forest. Wes Skiles told JF that there is another small spring just in from the riverbank below the mouth of the Poe run. This spring flows back away from the river and empties into the run.
Use/Access
Personal Impressions
When JF first visited Poe in 1996, he was struck by the "deadness"
of the site. Whereas most springs are teeming with flora and fauna, Poe
had no fish and its bottom was choked with dead, black, rotting roots and
other vegetative debris and detritus. Most of this material was gone
when the spring was visited again in April and July, 2000, but there was
little evidence of flora or fauna in the water.
Nearby Springs