List of major springs in Florida


Geologists from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection claim that the U.S. state of Florida may have the largest convergence of freshwater springs on the planet, with over 700. Hydrological springs are naturally occurring places where water flows from the aquifer to the surface. There are springs located within 21 Florida State Parks.
In the 1800s, the crystal clear water attracted development; 14 Florida cities have "Spring" in their name. Spring names have been duplicated in different parts of the state, such as Gator and Salt; Blue Spring was so common that the county name was added to differentiate between the seven locations.
The first comprehensive study of Florida's springs was published in 1947. The next update was released 30 years later in the Florida Geological Survey Bulletin No. 31, Revised, "Springs of Florida".
In the 1977 Rosenau survey, there were sixteen offshore springs identified. All but two were situated on the Gulf coast. Since that time, scores of additional springs have been located and are being studied. The most recent compendium of spring data is contained in the 2004 publication,
Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 66, and identified 720 springs, of which 33 were first magnitude, 191 were second magnitude, and 151 were third magnitude. Springs are identified by type: river rise is where a river emerges after flowing underground for a distance; a single spring has one underground source, but may flow through multiple rock fissures; a group spring has multiple underground sources; a sink is an opening in the Earth's surface that occurs from karst processes and/or suffosion.
Volume values listed are the most recent found, mostly after 2000, but water outflows have diminished significantly since the 1990s with drought conditions and increased pumping from the Floridan aquifer. Water flow diminished and stopped completely at several locations, including White Springs and Worthington Springs, where tourists flocked to drink and soak in the mineral water beginning in the late 1800s. The public water plant at Boulware Springs provided water for the city of Gainesville, Florida and the University of Florida until 1913, when reduced outflow required a new water source.
Many of the springs listed herein are indicated as privately owned, which is a misnomer. "Private individuals cannot 'own' a spring that is along/accessible from a navigable waterway. They own the land around it above the normal high water mark."
Since the 1972 Clean Water Act defined the term "navigable waters", the meaning has been litigated. Following U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the Federal Register published EPA's final definition on November 26, 2008. Section states: "intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams which are utilized by interstate travelers for recreational or other purposes. Courts have ruled that "shallow streams that are traversable only by canoe have met the test".
Note: The table of contents only applies when the list is sorted by spring name.
Spring is located within a Florida State Park
Spring is located within the Ocala National Forest
Limited access: requires permission or access from water
Volume is for Group, not individual spring
Scuba diving is permitted

1st> 64.6 million gallons
2nd> 6.46 million gallons
3rd> 646,000 gallons
4th> 144,000 gallons
ZeroNo flow

MagSpring nameOutflow bodyTypeCountyDaily flow
in millions		TempOwnPhoto
1stAlapaha Rise Alapaha RiverRRHamiltonP
1stAlexander St. Johns RiverSSLakeF
2ndApopka Lake ApopkaSSLakeP
2ndAucilla Wacissa RiverGSJefferson P
2ndBaltzellChipola RiverGSJacksonS/C
2ndBeecher St. Johns RiverSSPutnamS
1stBig Blue Wacissa RiverGSJefferson P
1stBlue St. Johns RiverSSVolusiaS
1stBlue Grotto Silver RiverGSMarion P
2ndBlue Hole Chipola RiverSSJacksonS
1stBlue Hole Ichetucknee RiverGSColumbia S
4thBoulwareSweetwater Branch CreekSSAlachuaC
2ndBranfordSuwannee RiverSSSuwanneeC
2ndBuckhorn Main Alafia RiverGSHillsboroughP
2ndBugg Lake DenhamSSLakeP
1stCedar Head Ichetucknee RiverGSColumbia S
1stChassahowitzkaChassahowitzka RiverGSCitrusS
2ndCitrus BlueWithlacoochee RiverSSCitrusP
2ndColumbia Santa Fe RiverSSColumbiaP
2ndCopperSuwannee RiverGSDixieP
NACow Suwannee RiverSKLafayetteNAP
2ndCrystal SpringsHillsborough RiverSSPascoP
1stCypress Holmes Creek
Choctawhatchee River		SSWashingtonP
2ndDe Leon Spring Garden Creek
St. Johns River		SSVolusiaS
NADevil’s Den-SKLevyNAP
2ndDevil’s Ear/Eye/LittleSanta Fe RiverGSGilchristP
1stEmerald Econfina CreekGSBay P
2ndEllavilleSuwannee RiverSSSuwanneeP
1stFalmouthKarst fensterSSSuwanneeS
1stFanning Suwannee RiverSSLevyP
2ndFenney Shady Brook
Lake Panasoffkee		SSSumterP
2ndFern Hammock Juniper Creek
Lake George		GSMarionF
1stGainer #3Econfina CreekGSBay P/S
4thGator Hammock CreekSSHernandoP
2ndGilchrist BlueSanta Fe RiverGSGilchristP
2ndGinnieSanta Fe RiverGSGilchristP
4thGlenHogtown CreekSSAlachuaP
3rdGreen CoveSt. Johns RiverSSClayC
2ndGuarantoSuwannee RiverSSDixieC
2ndHardeeWithlacoochee RiverSSHamiltonS
2ndHartSuwannee RiverGSGilchristC
2ndHernando Salt Mud RiverSSHernandoP
ZeroHolton Creek Rise Suwannee RiverRRHamiltonS
1stHomosassa Homosassa RiverGSCitrusS
2ndHornsby Santa Fe RiverSSAlachuaP
2ndHunter Crystal RiverGSCitrus C/P
1stIchetucknee Ichetucknee RiverGSColumbia S
1stJackson BlueMerritt’s Millpond
Chipola River		GSJacksonS/C
2ndJuniper Juniper Creek
Lake George		GSMarionF
1stKings BayCrystal RiverGSCitrus S/P
1stKini/Upper River SinkKarst fensterSKWakullaP
ZeroKissingenPeace RiverGSPolkP
1stLafayette Blue Suwannee RiverSSLafayetteS
4thLevy Blue Waccasassa RiverSSLevyC
1stLime Sink Run Suwannee RiverSSSuwanneeS
2ndLithia Major, MinorAlafia RiverGSHillsboroughC
3rdLittle Weeki Wachee RiverSSHernandoP
2ndLittle RiverSuwannee RiverSSSuwanneeS
1stMadison Blue Withlacoochee RiverSSMadisonS/C
4thMagnolia Hammock CreekSSHernandoP
2ndManatee Suwannee RiverSSLevyS
1stMcCormick Econfina CreekGSBay P
1stMorrisonChoctawhatchee RiverSSWaltonS/C
1stNatural Bridge Karst fenster St. Marks RiverSSLeonP
1stNutall RiseAucilla RiverRRJeffersonP
3rdOrange Orange Creek
Oklawaha River		GSMarionP
2ndOtterSuwannee RiverSSGilchristP
NAParadise-SKMarionNAP
3rdPeacock Suwannee RiverGSSuwanneeS
2ndPittEconfina CreekGSWaltonC
2ndPoeSanta Fe RiverSSAlachuaC
2ndPonce de Leon Sandy Creek
Choctawhatchee River		GSHolmesS
2ndRainbow Rainbow River
Withlacoochee River		GSMarionS/P
1stRoaring Ichetucknee RiverGSColumbia S
2ndRockRock Springs Run Wekiwa RiverSSOrangeC
2ndRock BluffSuwannee RiverGSGilchristP
ZeroRossetterWithlacoochee RiverSSHamiltonS
3rdRoyalSuwannee RiverSSSuwanneeC
2ndRunning East, West Suwannee RiverGSLafayette
Suwannee		P
2ndSalt Lake GeorgeSSMarionF
2ndSanlando Wekiva RiverSSSeminoleP
2ndSanta Fe Santa Fe RiverSSColumbiaP
2ndSanta Fe Rise Santa Fe RiverRRAlachuaS
2ndShangri La Merritt’s Millpond
Chipola River		SSJacksonP
1stSilver Silver River
Oklawaha River		GSMarion S
2ndSilver Glen St. Johns RiverGSMarionF
1stSiphon Creek Rise Santa Fe RiverRRGilchristS
1stSpring CreekApalachee BaySSWakullaS/P
1stSt. Marks Rise St. Marks RiverRRLeonP
2ndStarbuck Wekiva RiverSSSeminoleP
1stSteinhatchee RiseSteinhatchee RiverRRTaylor
Dixie		S
2ndSunSuwannee RiverSSGilchristP
2ndSuwanacoocheeWithlacoochee RiverSSSuwanneeS
2ndSuwanneeSuwannee RiverGSSuwanneeS
2ndSuwannee Blue Suwannee RiverSSSuwanneeP
1stTarpon Hole Crystal RiverGSCitrus C/P
2ndTelfordSuwannee RiverSSSuwanneeP
2ndThree Sisters Crystal RiverGSCitrus P
1stTreehouse Santa Fe RiverSSAlachuaP
1stTroy Suwannee RiverSSLafayetteS
2ndVolusia Blue St. Johns RiverSSVolusiaS
2ndVortexBlue/Sandy Creek
Choctawhatchee River		SSHolmesP
2ndWacissa GroupWacissa RiverGSJefferson S/P
1stWakulla Wakulla RiverSSWakullaS
3rdWaldo Fenholloway RiverSSTaylorP
3rdWallBoggy BayouSSPinellasC
3rdWarm MineralMyakka RiverGSSarasotaP
1stWeeki Wachee Weeki Wachee RiverSSHernandoS
2ndWekiwa Wekiva RiverSSOrange
Seminole		S
3rdWelakaSt. Johns RiverSSPutnamP
2ndWhiteSuwannee RiverSSHamiltonS
2ndWilliford Econfina CreekGSWashington
Bay		S
3rdWorthingtonSanta Fe RiverSSUnionC