Thanks to landowner Byron Herder for inviting us to go see the Alapaha River Rise from his surrounding property after we hiked from the Dead River Sink to the Dry Alapaha River. About half a dozen of us took him up on that, include WWALS Board member Bret Wagenhorst.

The Rise is just upstream of the CR 249 or CR 751 Bridge, aka Nobles Ferry Bridge, which is just upstream of Gibson County Park and the Alapaha River Confluence with the Suwannee River. That’s about eighteen river miles downstream from the Dead River.

Alapaha River Rise Hike. Thanks, Landowner Byron Herder. Where Dead River Sink water Rises, 2025-11-01

As Byron pointed out, the Alapaha River Rise is not just a first magnitude spring, at a daily flow of 383.9 million gallons per day (mgd), it dwarfs all the others in the Suwannee River Basin. (There are five with more flow, on Crystal River and Rainbow River.)

Second most flow in the Suwannee River Basin is Holton Creek Rise at 157 mgd, a bit upstream on the Suwannee River. That’s also the other place dye came back up from the Dead River Sink in the 2016 Alapaha Swallets Dye Trace Project.

Both Rises have more flow than can be accounted for by the Dead River Sink alone, even adding in the other sinks in the Alapaha River slightly upstream of the Dead River.

Suwannnee River upstream from CR 249 Bridge, 2025:11:01 13:11:51, –jsq for WWALS 30.4373000, -83.0907000

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Alapaha River Rise Run, 2025:11:01 13:13:32, –jsq for WWALS 30.4383069, -83.0898289

A planted bush, 2025:11:01 13:13:39, –jsq for WWALS 30.4383069, -83.0898289

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Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:13:55, –jsq for WWALS 30.4383069, -83.0898289

Round Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:15:11, –jsq for WWALS 30.4383949, -83.0898550

Rope swing, 2025:11:01 13:17:56, –jsq for WWALS 30.4390502, -83.0897881

Byron Herder surveys his domain, 2025:11:01 13:17:57, –jsq for WWALS 30.4390502, -83.0897881

Byron Herder explains, 2025:11:01 13:18:15, –jsq for WWALS 30.4390502, -83.0897881

She can’t reach the swing, 2025:11:01 13:18:31, –jsq for WWALS 30.4390502, -83.0897881

Steps to the swing, 2025:11:01 13:19:20, –jsq for WWALS 30.4389922, -83.0897158

Byron Herder and Bret Wagenhorst, 2025:11:01 13:19:34, –jsq for WWALS 30.4389922, -83.0897158

Movie: Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:20:07, (10M) –jsq for WWALS 30.4389922, -83.0897158

Rope swing over Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:21:32, –jsq for WWALS 30.4389853, -83.0897495

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Aroyo east of Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:27:47, –jsq for WWALS 30.4382297, -83.0888168

Downstream aroyo towards Alapaha River Rise, 2025:11:01 13:27:58, –jsq for WWALS 30.4382297, -83.0888168

For more outings and events as they are posted, see:
https://wwals.net/outings/

WWALS members get a list of outings and events in the WWALS monthly newsletters, the one-sheet Tannin Times and the long-form Tannin Gazette.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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