Florida's Springs
The Spring of Life, painting by Christopher Still
Florida's springs provide homes for many kinds of plants, fish, and other creatures. As seawater cools in winter, manatees migrate to the springs' warmer waters, joined by schools of fish and other marine life. The waters of the springs sustain the rivers that flow to the sea.
Springs form from water stored in an underground feature called an aquifer. Water collecting in the aquifer puts pressure on water already there. This pressure forces water to the surface, creating springs. Florida's main aquifer, the Floridian Aquifer, consists of a porous rock called limestone that runs beneath the entire state. The Floridian Aquifer provides the water that supplies most of the state's springs.
Florida's earliest inhabitants visited the springs. Much later, springs drew the state's first tourists. Florida's springs release nineteen billion gallons of groundwater daily—more than any other spring system in the world. They support a growing number of people, along with plants, animals, and fish, and protecting them is vital to Florida's future.
1. Study the manatees in the painting above.
2. How do you think manatees are able to move through the water?
3. What other kinds of underwater life do you see here?
4. Go to christopherstill.com/fl-house-of-reps and click on the picture that matches the painting above.
5. Click on "Go to link" to learn more about the variety of underwater life in Florida.
