Tag Archives: karst

Jennings Bluff Tract State Geological Site, Cedar Keys Formation, and Madison Blue Spring –FGS News and Research 2023-05-01

The May 2023 issue of FGS News and Research by the Florida Geological Survey has several articles relevant to the Suwannee River Basin.

[FGS N&R Madison Blue Spring]
FGS N&R Madison Blue Spring

On the Alapaha River Water Trail, Jennings Bluff Tract in Hamilton County Named as the Seventh State Geological Site covers what we reported from the site at the announcement. See also Continue reading

Pictures: Sullivan Launch to Madison Blue Spring Withlacoochee River 2015-10-24

A fine day, balmy, breezy, sunny, with springs and rapids and fine company, from Sullivan Launch to Madison Blue Spring on the Withlacoochee River, in the October WWALS Outing, October 24, 2015.

[Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076]
Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076

This is part of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, and you can join the committee!

Below are some pictures. Click on any small picture to see a larger version. Pictured: many shoals and rapids.

[Pinetta Gage steps and old-style measure 30.5957374, -83.2598038]
Pinetta Gage steps and old-style measure 30.5957374, -83.2598038

The Pinetta gage (pictured) read 6.4 feet. Any lower and more dragging boats would have been necessary. Lots of cypress, oaks, pines, and other native species.

Not pictured: a large turtle, numerous birds (heron, ibis, hawk, buzzard, others), and fish (mullet, bass). No gators. Very few invasive species, except the notorious Japanese climbing fern.

Watch the WWALS Outings for more outings and events!
https://wwals.net/outings/

 -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/

After

[WWALS at Madison Blue Spring --Gretchen Quarterman]
WWALS at Madison Blue Spring –Gretchen Quarterman

Before

[Gathering]
Gathering

Pinnetta Gauge

[Pinetta Gage Tower 30.5957374, -83.2598038]
Pinetta Gage Tower 30.5957374, -83.2598038

Old Belleville Bridge

[Belleville Bridge buttress from below 30.5953369, -83.2596130]
Belleville Bridge buttress from below 30.5953369, -83.2596130

On the water

[CR 150 bridge, looking upstream 30.5956955, -83.2594681]
CR 150 bridge, looking upstream 30.5956955, -83.2594681

First Shoals

[Shoals 30.5941982, -83.2590637]
Shoals 30.5941982, -83.2590637

Flotilla

[Gretchen and the boaters 30.5822926, -83.2627106]
Gretchen and the boaters 30.5822926, -83.2627106

Second Shoals

[More shoals 30.5819988, -83.2626953]
More shoals 30.5819988, -83.2626953

First Spring

[Coffee Spring 30.5775184, -83.2618179]
Coffee Spring 30.5775184, -83.2618179

Onwards

[Froth 30.5762119, -83.2609482]
Froth 30.5762119, -83.2609482

Third Shoals

[Sighting the rapids 30.5697098, -83.2624817]
Sighting the rapids 30.5697098, -83.2624817

On down the river

[Two directions 30.5679722, -83.2606277]
Two directions 30.5679722, -83.2606277

Eyott

[Island, or rather eyott? 30.5653133, -83.2575378]
Island, or rather eyott? 30.5653133, -83.2575378

Fossilized

[Fossils for lunch 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Fossils for lunch 30.5626812, -83.2563248

River House

[House 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
House 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Left bank island

[Island on left 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Island on left 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Karst

[Confab 30.5626812, -83.2563248]
Confab 30.5626812, -83.2563248

Tiny Fourth Shoals

[White water 30.5529365, -83.2608795]
White water 30.5529365, -83.2608795

Soon Spring

[Spring coming up 30.5446434, -83.2505264]
Spring coming up 30.5446434, -83.2505264

Hardee (Rossetter) Spring

[Hardee Spring dam 30.5446434, -83.2505264]
Hardee Spring dam 30.5446434, -83.2505264

After Hardee

[Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076]
Onwards from Hardee Spring 30.5444069, -83.2500076

Rock Tree

[Dan and the rock tree 30.5336761, -83.2483062]
Dan and the rock tree 30.5336761, -83.2483062

Balcones

[Undercut caves 30.5118561, -83.2455368]
Undercut caves 30.5118561, -83.2455368

PBR

[A boat ramp 30.5118217, -83.2455063]
A boat ramp 30.5118217, -83.2455063

Black Rocks

[Interesting black rocks 30.4932423, -83.2414474]
Interesting black rocks 30.4932423, -83.2414474

Fifth Shoals

[Rapids 30.4910717, -83.2443161]
Rapids 30.4910717, -83.2443161

Karst Tree

[Karst tree 30.4899406, -83.2438965]
Karst tree 30.4899406, -83.2438965

Egret

[Green bank, white bird 30.4822121, -83.2433777]
Green bank, white bird 30.4822121, -83.2433777

FL 6 Bridge

[FL 6 bridge from downstream 30.4812660, -83.2434616]
FL 6 bridge from downstream 30.4812660, -83.2434616

MBS

[Just around those logs 30.4810009, -83.2436981]
Just around those logs 30.4810009, -83.2436981

 -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/

Pictures: Alapahoochee River, GA 135 to Sullivan Launch Sasser Landing 2021-06-05

Update 2023-01-26: Pictures: Many deadfalls, shark teeth, and rapids: Alapachoochee Adventure 2022-07-09.

Bird Chamberlain and others had been suggesting it for years, and we finally did it: the Alapahoochee River from GA 135 to Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River. We paddled over many deadfalls, across the GA-FL line, past the creek of shark teeth, under old abandoned steel Beatty Bridge, through Devil Shoal, right by Turket Creek Waterfall.

[Banners, Alapahoochee River, Deadfall, Beatty Bridge, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek Waterfall]
Banners, Alapahoochee River, Deadfall, Beatty Bridge, Devil Shoal, Turket Creek Waterfall

Many thanks to Bobby McKenzie for organizing this expedition, to the WWALS Outings Committee for planning it, and to all who paddled, including Suzanne Welander, author of Canoeing and Kayaking Georgia, who came down from Atlanta for this outing. Continue reading

Paddle Georgia, Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, into Florida 2019-06-15-21

Update 2019-06-08: Reroute due to lack of rain.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, GA, February 13, 2019 — From next to the largest Suwannee River Basin city, Valdosta, to between some of the smallest, Mayo and Luraville, Paddle Georgia brings 300 people this summer to venture for the first time across the state line from Georgia to Florida, on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Suwannee Rivers, June 15 through 21, 2019.

Banners picture,
WWALS Withlacoochee River outing 2017-06-24

“Five years ago I suggested our Withlacoochee River to Joe Cook for Paddle Georgia, and he went one better, adding the Suwannee River, past two of the few second-magnitude springs in Georgia, McIntyre and Arnold, and two of the famous first-magnitude Florida Springs: Madison Blue and Lafayette,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “Plus Spook Bridge and the orphaned railroad trestle near Madison, with many shoals and rapids at the GA-FL line! Special thanks to The Langdale Company for permission to take out just below Spook Bridge. Personally, I like that this paddle starts at my birthplace in Valdosta, Georgia and ends at my grandmother’s birthplace at the ferry site for Luraville, Florida.”

This event is organized by Paddle Georgia, with catered dinners and buses to and from the rivers. WWALS is assisting, for example by organizing the Spook Bridge takeout, and by pointing out many sites that non-locals might miss, ranging from springs, and Withlacoochee River agates, and the halberd-leaf rosemallow, whose blooms last only one day, to perpetual bothers such as Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Continue reading

Marion County Comprehensive Plan to reject Coastal Connector? 2019-01-15

Maybe you’d like to show up 2PM tomorrow, Tuesday, January 15, 2019, and encourage the Marion County, FL, BOCC to adopt into the county’s Comprehensive Plan a Resolution they passed June 5, 2018, which would help head off future road boondoggles. The resolution opposes any Coastal Connector highway routes through Marion County.

[DRAFT Areas of Opportunity, 4/6/2016]
DRAFT Areas of Opportunity, 4/6/2016

When: 2PM, Tuesday, January 14, 2019

Where: McPherson Governmental Complex,
601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala, FL 34471

What: Item 14.B.4. on the agenda is adopting the resolution into the county’s Comprehensive Plan.

Event: facebook

As juries recently decided about easement for the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline (which Marion County also opposed), “full compensation” is not the same as “just compensation” for road rights of way, either:

J. It must be recognized that the issue is not simply the payment of “full compensation” to owners of the most valuable equine and agricultural properties in Marion County. Rather, it must be recognized that as a result of any of these corridors, the required right-of-way acquisitions and resulting construction of the proposed facility will not only damage, but may destroy many of these important operations in Marion County, and consequently, negatively impact the economic vitality and long-range growth of Marion County; and

Gouging pipelines or highways through farm or horse land or under rivers destroys what they traverse. No amount of compensation would be sufficient.

If you’re nearby, this would be good opportunity to stand up for water, environment, and property rights.

Janet Barrow Letter

WWALS member Janet Barrow sent them this letter. EAR is Continue reading

Paddle Georgia discovers the Withlacoochee River

Would you like to paddle the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers for a week in June 2019 with 300 of your closest friends? Our rivers topped Paddle Georgia’s poll of six destinations. Joe Cook, Mr. Paddle Georgia, called me back in July about this possibility. That’s why on July 5, 2018, I blogged A week on the Withlacoochee River in June?

Shoals on the Withlacoochee River
Paddle Georgia discovering the Withlacoochee River has rapids.

It turns out there was a story in the Continue reading

Arnold Springs, Mozell Spells, Withlacoochee River 2017-10-14

A fine fall day with diving and landowners at Arnold Springs, Old Clyattville Road Bridge, exotic invasive Japanese Climbing Fern, Horn Bridge, and Mozell Spells (State Line Ramp): on the Withlacoochee River with WWALS Watershed Coalition, Suwannee Riverkeeper. Thanks to all who came to paddle from as far as two hours from Gainesville, Florida and four hours from Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Clear spring water, 15:13:01,, Arnold Springs
Blue-green Arnold Springs water meets tea-colored Withlacoochee River water.

The Quitman Gauge (US 84) read 2.17 feet (85.67 NAVD88), which was slightly above our recommended low level, and just fine for Arnold Springs. Here are some pictures and a Google Map. A few videos will follow.

This part of the outing was all in Georgia, but we paddled downstream from Florida to get there; see Continue reading

If we hear about a sinkhole or a leak, we’ll be there –WWALS @ WCTV 2017-06-15

It’s not over just because the gas is flowing through Sabal Trail. We’ll be watching, and we’re escalating.

Noelani Mathews, WCTV, June 15, 2017, Local environmentalist groups prepare for Sabal Trail Pipeline to go online,

“We’ve always did a lot online and through legal angles and we’re going to continue doing a lot of that,” says John Quarterman, WWALS President. “If we hear about a sink hole or a leak, we’ll be there taking pictures.”

At the Withlacoochee River @ GA 122

Sabal Trail Transmission spokeswoman Andrea Grover said, Continue reading

Sabal Trail in-service: keep watching them 2017-06-14

There are still many things you can do, from permit violations to FERC reform, after FPL gloated yesterday about starting the gas through Transco, Sabal Trail, and FSC. Pipelines leak, and another pipeline’s go-ahead just got slapped down by a federal court, plus we need to change the whole legal game. Meanwhile, continuing the rocketing rise of solar power in the Sunshine State and everywhere else is the best way to pry the clammy grip of the fossil fuel industry off our political system.

FSC spill
Photo: Mitch Allen

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 14 June 2017, Sabal Trail, Florida SE Connection are now piping fuel to FPL,

“The start of Florida Southeast Connection and Sabal Trail Transmission natural gas pipeline operations is an important milestone for FPL customers and Florida’s economy,” FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy said.

It may indeed be a milestone of the last pipeline ever built into Florida or through Georgia.

It may even be a milestone of Continue reading

Other aquifer models don’t work for karst Floridan Aquifer –Geology Prof. Can Denizman to Suwannee River Partnership 2017-03-03

Someone said there’s an actual scientist in the room, so let’s hear from him. So WWALS Science Committee member Geology Professor Can Denizman said a few words about modeling karst limestone aquifers such as the Floridan Aquifer. This was at the March 3, 2017 meeting of the new Environmental Advisory Work Group of the Suwannee River Partnership.

Geology Prof. Can Denizman, VSU, WWALS Science Committee

Here’s video followed by a transcript: Continue reading