Tag Archives: scuba

Brooks County, Springs Capital of Georgia

Brooks County can boast three springs of a type usually thought to be only in Florida. Of only about six second magnitude springs in Georgia, three are downstream from US 84: Wade or Blue Springs, sadly defunct; McIntyre Spring, large and easily accessible in the right bank emerging from 4610 feet of caverns back under Brooks County; and Arnold Springs, actually three small springs in the left bank.

Movie: Swimming at McIntyre Spring (1.5M)
Picture by John S. Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition 9 July 2016,
as are all the other pictures herein not otherwise labeled.

And there are numerous shoals between these springs.

Springs

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4610 foot explored cave at McIntyre Spring, Withlacoochee River, Georgia

Did you know there’s an almost mile-long cave system under the Withlacoochee River between Lowndes and Brooks Counties, Georgia? Valdosta cave-diver Guy Bryant wrote a fascinating in-depth blog about McIntyre Spring, including this map he drew, and the picture below of him in this cave system that starts in the river bottom.

There’s no land access, so don’t trespass. And don’t try to go in the cave even from boats unless you really know what you’re doing. It’s been visited by some of the most famous cave divers in the world, a couple of whom are no longer with us due to accidents in other underground caverns.

But do please go read Guy Bryant’s blog post. Continue reading