A very scenic hike to some of the most unusual geological features in all of Florida: the Alapaha River Sink and the Dead River Sink.
We walked over beds of 50-million-year-old fossilized oysters,
above all our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer.
See many pictures
and
a few videos of the sights,
and
a google map
of the sites.
Practicing Geologist Dennis Price led us by the scenic route on this hike, explaining te karst geology on display, which underlies all of north Florida and south Georgia, containing our drinking water in the Floridan Aquifer. Dennis and hike organizer Chris Mericle recommend making this very unusual area a state park.
The Alapaha River goes underground here unless it has a lot of water, which usually this time of year and right now it does not.
Until recently nobody knew for sure where it comes back up, but this summer Suwannee River Water Management District turned the Dead River flourescent green in a dye test, and the dye came back up a few days later in the Alapaha Rise and in Holton Creek Spring, both on the Suwannee River a bit upstream from the Alapaha Confluence.
The Alapaha River Sink is prominently pictured on the WWALS brochure for the Alapaha River Water Trail.
The better picture of the WWALS banner at the Alapaha Sink (above) and of the Dead River Sink itself (below) are by Gretchen Quarterman from her facebook album.
Videos
You can hear Dennis Price explain it all, and the thunder of the Alapaha River Sink, in these videos.
More pictures below by John S. Quarterman. Click on any small picture to get a bigger picture. And there’s a google map of the locations pictured.
-jsq
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Pictures
These pictures are by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition, except the several marked as by Gretchen Quarterman. Creative Commons attribution license.
Jennings Bluff Tract 30.5671901, -83.0389019
Jennings Bluff Landing 30.5798842, -83.0392405
Preparing 30.5798842, -83.0392405
Dennis Price P.G. explaining what we will see 30.5798969, -83.0393708
Green Alapaha River; nitrogen? 30.5821472, -83.0417484
Green and dry Alapaha River, 30.5833633, -83.0435942
Gretchen starts down 30.5845793, -83.0468497
Down to the wash bed 30.5845793, -83.0468497
Marching along 30.5845793, -83.0468497
Downwards 103538 30.5848819, -83.0468896
Climb back up 30.5848264, -83.0466962
Gretchen catching up, 30.5848264, -83.0466962
Nice palmettos, 30.5847849, -83.0463605
People down at the river, 30.5851047, -83.0464668
Gretchen and Chris inspecting a pine tree, 30.5852269, -83.0464122
About to the riverbed, 30.5854194, -83.0464834
Nice stump, 30.5853902, -83.0465057
Cut side, 30.5854008, -83.0465111
Sand side, 30.5854008, -83.0465111
Panorama of both sides, 30.5852778, -83.0463889
Movie: 20161106 104457 (686M)
Gretchen pictures Dennis explaining, 30.5854580, -83.0465317
Attentive crowd, 30.5854578, -83.0465299
Except for the dog, 30.5854588, -83.0465317
Asters, 30.5847931, -83.0485753
On up the river, 105821 30.5847664, -83.0486311
Some following behind, 30.5840571, -83.0489746
Many tracks, 30.5840571, -83.0489746
Turkey tracks, 30.5840571, -83.0489746
Fish bed with turkey tracks, 30.5840565, -83.0500666
Crowd at the Dead River confluence, 30.5840348, -83.0501771
Dead River confluence, 30.5840777, -83.0503014
Lori listening to Dennis at the oyster beds, 30.5840251, -83.0505336
Bret, Deanna, Chris, Dennis, oyster beds, 30.5840251, -83.0505336
50-million-year-old oysters, 30.5839481, -83.0513220
Oysters closeup, 30.5840574, -83.0515484
Camera rainbow, 30.5840476, -83.0514830
Can Denizman, the Potters, and others arrive, 30.5841534, -83.0513453
More fossilized oysters, 30.5841006, -83.0513325
Movie: 20161106 110719 (31M)
Tree reflections, 30.5841421, -83.0514413
Black rocks, 30.5841421, -83.0514413
Black pebbles, 30.5841385, -83.0514438
Two geologists conferring (Dennis and Can), 30.5841235, -83.0515053
On up the Alapaha, 30.5841235, -83.0515053
Some water in the river, 30.5841235, -83.0515053
People crossing deadfall, 30.5841667, -83.0519444
Loud roaring sound, 30.5855110, -83.0523775
Movie: 20161106 111446 (6.4M)
Alapaha River Sink, 30.5855351, -83.0527751
Movie: 20161106 111523 (15M)
Movie: Alapaha River (2.0M), 30.5855934, -83.0528291
flowing into, 30.5855934, -83.0528291
the Alapaha River sink, 30.5855189, -83.0528064
Movie: 20161106 111608 (9.8M)
Movie: 20161106 111707 (25M)
Movie: 20161106 111731 (47M)
Dont fall into the Devils Den, 30.5855189, -83.0528064
Johnny and Phil, brave to bring that camera, 30.5855189, -83.0528064
WWALS banner, 30.5852778, -83.0527778
More below, 30.5855556, -83.0527778
WWALS banner at Alapaha Sink, 30.5855351, -83.0527000
Zoom WWALS banner, 30.5855351, -83.0527000
Dennis explaining aquifers, 30.5855545, -83.0529399
The Devils Den, 30.5855545, -83.0529399
Bret, Alapaha Sink, 20161106 112627 (33M)
Phil, Alapaha Sink, 30.5855009, -83.0528016
Johnny, Alapaha Sink, 30.5855405, -83.0528102
Back down to the Dead River, 30.5844745, -83.0519098
More following along, 30.5844444, -83.0516667
Lunch break at the Dead River, 30.5839646, -83.0511557
28 and at least one already left, 30.5839294, -83.0512648
Beatriz sees Deanna already up the Dead River, 30.5839583, -83.0512969
Stereo geologists, 30.5839546, -83.0513326
Dennis and a rapt lunch crowd, 30.5839493, -83.0513395
Chris agreeing it should be a state park, 30.5838763, -83.0512796
Are you ready to hike? 30.5839497, -83.0513190
Over the oyster beds up the Dead River, 30.5839645, -83.0515484
Beatriz seems dubious, 30.5839237, -83.0522376
Over deadfalls, 30.5840228, -83.0524169
Tom goes one way, Can another, 30.5840228, -83.0524169
Something in the water, 30.5839044, -83.0529146
Down, 30.5839044, -83.0529146
Sideways, 30.5838803, -83.0529242
Another sink, 30.5838557, -83.0530662
Dry now, 30.5838389, -83.0530616
More sink viewers climbing, 30.5838348, -83.0530641
Fossil tracks? 30.5838341, -83.0530645
Up the Dead River, 30.5838309, -83.0530673
Can and the black rocks, 30.5838363, -83.0530678
Some go up, some go under, 30.5838363, -83.0530678
Under also required up, 30.5838308, -83.0530742
Somebody up there, 30.5840196, -83.0544586
Another up there, 30.5840103, -83.0544550
Wide with willows, 30.5840287, -83.0544565
Dennis, stick, narrows, 30.5834414, -83.0543713
Water springing up, 30.5826263, -83.0521584
Tannic tea-colored water, 30.5826263, -83.0521584
Quite a stream, 30.5826263, -83.0521584
Movie: Flowing water (25M), 30.5826263, -83.0521584
Almost there, 30.5823121, -83.0518127
Down from the easy entrance, 30.5823101, -83.0518601
Here we are, 30.5818388, -83.0517782
Dennis up above, 30.5818388, -83.0517782
Chris climb, Gretchen scratch, 30.5818388, -83.0517782
More above, 30.5818388, -83.0517782
Tom Potter surrounded, 30.5837645, -83.0544796
Dennis came around the sink, 30.5815381, -83.0515448
Dead River Sink, 30.5818300, -83.0517790
Dead River Sink with trash, 30.5818310, -83.0517800
Google Map
Follow this link to the google map, and it’s also embedded below.
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Short Link: