Location

Apopka Spring is located on the southwest side of Lake Apopka in Gourd Neck, 2 miles south of Montverde.

The spring is accessible only by boat.

NW SW SE Sec. 14, T. 22 S., R. 26 E.

Description

The spring is located in an area of southwest Lake Apopka known as Gourd Neck because of its gourd shape. Gourd Neck is buffered by marsh and lowland swamp forest on its west side before giving way to sand hills with extensive agriculture. The east side of Gourd Neck is bordered by a sand hill peninsula with planted pines and is currently (2008) being developed for home sites. The spring cove is shallow around the perimeter with an organic, mucky bottom and emergent vegetation.

The spring pool is roughly circular, between 100 and 200 feet in diameter. The edges of the pool are ill-defined because of floating aquatic vegetation. The spring discharges from a single submerged oval-shaped opening, 5–6 feet in diameter in the bottom of the central bowl-shaped pool where the depth measures 45 feet. The spring bottom is a mixture of sand and dark organic matter. The cloudy lake water quickly turns to clear spring water as the spring is approached. There is some exotic aquatic vegetation along the sandy slopes of the spring depression. The spring produces a large boil, and suspended particles can be seen within the clear water column. When spring flow is high, the pool is clean and clear, but when flow is low, murky lake water may cloud the pool.

An underwater cave system has been recognized in this spring. The vent opening narrows vertically downward into the limestone for 16 feet, where it then slopes northward at about 45 degrees to a depth of 90 feet, making for dangerous diving conditions. Two amateur divers died attempting to explore the spring’s cave. Flow measurements have been made by professional cave divers inside the caves since there is no other way to measure flow.

Utilization

The spring is undeveloped and surrounded by private property. There is a bottled water plant located northwest of the vent that withdraws water from the aquifer system that feeds the spring. Water from this spring discharges directly into Lake Apopka.

Contact Information

None