Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi, I'm Jonathan Bird and welcome to my world!
Today we're going to visit a world that very few people ever get to see, both underwater
and underground!
And that world is here, at Ginnie Spring in central Florida, where every day, 30 million
gallons of crystal clear water flows to the surface from an underground river.
Ginnie Spring looks like your average small pond, except for the clear, blue water. It's
a favorite local spot for swimming, tubing, relaxing and even kayaking. But this is no
ordinary pond. At the bottom is an amazing underwater cave—a secret passageway that
goes deep inside the Earth.
It seems strange to be suiting up into all my gear in a place like this. After all I'm
a long way from the ocean.
But you really can't beat the convenience of a staircase right into the water!
Because this water comes from deep underground, it's a constant 72 degrees all year around,
but it still feels cold to me.
I give my gear one last check and let's go take a look.
At the bottom of the pond is the small opening to the cave. Armed with my trusty flashlight,
I head on in. Cave diving is very, dangerous and should never be done alone. I'm with
my cameraman Tim and we keep an eye on each other.
Once inside the cave, it's a lot bigger. The cave keeps going down. And it's getting
darker as we go.
The cave is made of a white colored rock called limestone. Limestone is pretty soft, and over
millions of years, the water has carved its way through, leaving a tunnel.
As I get deeper, the passageway gets smaller and smaller until finally I'm trying to
squeeze through a little opening in the limestone rock.
My exhaled bubbles hit the ceiling and stop, looking like liquid metal rolling around in
an upside down world.
This fish seems to find me amusing. It probably doesn't live down here all the time because
there's nothing to eat. Instead, it probably lives in the pond and only visits the cave.
It keeps looking at my wrist computer. Maybe it thinks I'm lunch. It sure seems to be
enjoying my company! I think I found a new friend.
I could play with this little fish for hours, but it's time to move on. I can just barely
get my tank through the opening and I'm off to fine the bottom of the tunnel.
Well, this is as far as we can go. The tunnel keeps going -- thousands of feet down. Divers
have gone down, gotten lost and died in this cave, so bars were installed to keep people
from going too far. The water flowing out of the tunnel from deep within the Earth feels
like the blast from a huge fan. The current is really strong. All this water starts with
rain that seeps into the ground, dripping down until it reaches this underground river.
Constant pressure from water seeping down forces this water up and out of the spring.
As my tank gets low, it's time to start back to the light of day.
Part of the ceiling of the cave has trapped a bunch of my bubbles. I can actually stick
my hand right up in there where it's dry. In fact, I can get my whole head in there
for a breath of air!
What an incredible cave! The water is so clear that it seems like I'm swimming through
air. Water from underground has no algae or plankton growing in it, so it is almost perfectly
transparent.
It seems so strange to be exploring such a fantastic and alien place, yet just above
people are swimming and playing—not realizing what lies below.
Outside the cave, bubbles are percolating through the rocks. All my air bubbles trapped
inside the cave are slowly seeping out. Soon, there will be no trace of my presence inside.
And while today I have explored the underground secret of Ginnie Spring, there are many more
secrets to discover under the waters of the Blue World