2001

Cave Exploration in Sweetwater Lake and River Rise

Project Update September 1, 2001

Last September we were granted a permit to begin exploring, in O'Leno State Park, a possible cave system in Sweetwater Lake that might connect to another nearby cave system, on private property, that we were calling Derickson-Vaughn Cave System. Since then, we have renamed the Derickson-Vaughn Cave System; "Old Bellamy Cave" due to its close proximity to the historic Old Bellamy Road. The following details some of our findings.

We began diving in Sweetwater Lake on October 24, 1999. On our first dive the water in the lake was very tannic with visibility of less than 10 feet. We found a cave entrance at a depth of 30 feet in the northeast corner of the lake near the steps. We didn't know it at the time, but the entrance is approximately 120 wide and 50 feet tall and extends south along the edge of the lake. This is a truly impressive entrance to a cave system, and is probably one of the largest in this area of Florida.

At a depth of about 60 feet we encountered clear, cold, water and we are able to see about 60 feet through the water with the help of our dive lights. Apparently the cooler, denser, spring water from the Old Bellamy Cave System was able to form a layer on the bottom of the cave while the warmer, tannic water from River Sink rides on the top. On this dive, we were able to explore upstream about 1700 feet.

The next week, the cold weather cooled the tannic, surface water flowing into River Sink to the point where it is now cooler and denser than the spring water from Old Bellamy Cave. The water in the cave system is now very dark with tannic acid and our dive lights only allow us to see ten to twenty feet in front of us. Still, we are able to explore the cave passage almost 2500 feet from Sweetwater Lake over the course of several dives.

Since the turnover has reduced visibility, it was noted that warmer, clearer water from Old Bellamy Cave System is flowing out of the entrance at Sweetwater Lake at the top of the passage. The colder, tannic water is beneath this layer. The basin at Sweetwater is very clear with visibility of over 40 feet. We are able to see and appreciate just how large and impressive the entrance to the system is at this time. The floor of the lake is 80 feet deep at the entrance and is made of hard limestone which gradually gives way to sand as it slopes to a depth of 120 to 130 feet inside the cave. There are several large, car size blocks of limestone near the entrance as well as several massive tree trunks that have fallen into the lake in the past.

We have observed some blind crayfish in the system, although not nearly as abundant as in the Old Bellamy Cave System. Catfish are also present, particularly near the entrances, but also back in the cave system. Eels have also been seen as well as gar, bream, and freshwater flounders. I have seen at least one flounder over 1500 feet back in the cave. The floor of the cave contains an abundance of mussels, particularly near entrances. As yet, we have not seen any fossil remains or Indian artifacts in Sweetwater Lake. It appears that there is very little trash in the lake, mostly old fishing line and a few discarded bottles. There is an old boat that sank near the steps on the northeast corner of the lake.

In January of 2000 we were able to connect Sweetwater Lake to Old Bellamy Cave and confirm that this spring-fed system is directly connected to Sweetwater Lake and the River Rise/River Sink System.

River Rise is now explored to 5,868 feet and headed towards Downing Lake. We have explored the downstream section of Sweetwater Lake to a distance of 4,302 feet and it appears to go under Downing Lake and then head south towards River Rise. Both of these caves are as large, or larger than the passage at Sweetwater Lake. On the average, the cave passage is 60 to 80 feet wide and 40 to 60 feet floor to ceiling. The floor is generally anywhere from 100 to 140 feet deep.

This past summer has presented almost ideal conditions for diving at River Rise. The drought conditions have allowed the clear spring water from the Old Bellamy Cave to greatly dilute the tannic water from River Sink, resulting in visibility of over 40 feet in the cave. This has helped exploration immensely. We hope that these conditions can hold for a while longer until we are able to connect River Rise with Sweetwater Lake.

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