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Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park
Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park is a 733-acre (297 ha) Florida State Park located on Peacock Springs Road, two miles (3 km) east of Luraville and on State Road 51, 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Live Oak, Florida. Activities include picnicking, swimming and diving, and wildlife viewing. Among the wildlife of the park are deer, bobcats, raccoon, squirrels, beaver and otters, as well as turkey, blue heron and barred owls. The park name commemorates the work of diver and explorer Wes Skiles. Prior to 2010 the park was known as Peacock Springs State Park. Amenities include a nature trail, six sinkholes, and Peacock and Bonnet Springs, with miles of underwater caves popular with cave divers. The two springs are tributaries of the Suwannee River. The park is open from 8:00 am till sundown year round.
In 2006, The Trust for Public Land purchased approximately 481-acre (195 ha) for expansion of the park. This donation more than doubled the size of the park that was previously 252-acre (102 ha).
The Peacock cave system is a karst environment in limestone.
The Peacock Springs Cave system was first explored by Vasco Murray in 1956. The first map of the system was completed by the National Speleological Society team leader, Sheck Exley, in 1995. Exley's team made over 521 dives to complete the survey. A resurvey of the system was completed in 1996 by a team led by Michael Poucher. As of June 13, 2008, the Peacock cave system was the 24th longest underwater cave in the world at 7408 meters. In 2010, a connection was made by Agnes Milowka and James Toland between Baptizing and Peacock springs, extending the total length of the system an additional 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
On April 25, 2002, in order to protect the cave system from damage, the park stopped allowing divers to use Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPV).
It is one of the largest underwater caves in the continental United States with over 38,000 feet (12,000 m) of explored passageway. The cave system consists of seven major springs and sinkholes, six of which are located within Peacock Springs State Park. Peacock Springs is a popular destination for cave divers all over the world and is extensively used to train new cave divers.
The Peacock I Spring is the most accessible and most popular site in the system with an elevated walkway and stairs leading to the spring. There are three passageways that converge on the spring called the Pothole tunnel, the Peanut tunnel and the Peacock II tunnel. Each of these three tunnels has a permanent guideline (called a gold line) placed in it to ease navigation by cave divers.
The Pothole tunnel, named for the sinkhole 450 feet (140 m) down the tunnel from Peacock I, is the deepest of the three tunnels with a maximum depth of 65 feet (20 m). It contains large open passageways, relatively high ceilings and a silt bottom. The walls are often covered in silt but occasionally the silt will be blown away by floods exposing the white limestone underneath.
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Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park
Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park is a 733-acre (297 ha) Florida State Park located on Peacock Springs Road, two miles (3 km) east of Luraville and on State Road 51, 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Live Oak, Florida. Activities include picnicking, swimming and diving, and wildlife viewing. Among the wildlife of the park are deer, bobcats, raccoon, squirrels, beaver and otters, as well as turkey, blue heron and barred owls. The park name commemorates the work of diver and explorer Wes Skiles. Prior to 2010 the park was known as Peacock Springs State Park. Amenities include a nature trail, six sinkholes, and Peacock and Bonnet Springs, with miles of underwater caves popular with cave divers. The two springs are tributaries of the Suwannee River. The park is open from 8:00 am till sundown year round.
In 2006, The Trust for Public Land purchased approximately 481-acre (195 ha) for expansion of the park. This donation more than doubled the size of the park that was previously 252-acre (102 ha).
The Peacock cave system is a karst environment in limestone.
The Peacock Springs Cave system was first explored by Vasco Murray in 1956. The first map of the system was completed by the National Speleological Society team leader, Sheck Exley, in 1995. Exley's team made over 521 dives to complete the survey. A resurvey of the system was completed in 1996 by a team led by Michael Poucher. As of June 13, 2008, the Peacock cave system was the 24th longest underwater cave in the world at 7408 meters. In 2010, a connection was made by Agnes Milowka and James Toland between Baptizing and Peacock springs, extending the total length of the system an additional 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
On April 25, 2002, in order to protect the cave system from damage, the park stopped allowing divers to use Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPV).
It is one of the largest underwater caves in the continental United States with over 38,000 feet (12,000 m) of explored passageway. The cave system consists of seven major springs and sinkholes, six of which are located within Peacock Springs State Park. Peacock Springs is a popular destination for cave divers all over the world and is extensively used to train new cave divers.
The Peacock I Spring is the most accessible and most popular site in the system with an elevated walkway and stairs leading to the spring. There are three passageways that converge on the spring called the Pothole tunnel, the Peanut tunnel and the Peacock II tunnel. Each of these three tunnels has a permanent guideline (called a gold line) placed in it to ease navigation by cave divers.
The Pothole tunnel, named for the sinkhole 450 feet (140 m) down the tunnel from Peacock I, is the deepest of the three tunnels with a maximum depth of 65 feet (20 m). It contains large open passageways, relatively high ceilings and a silt bottom. The walls are often covered in silt but occasionally the silt will be blown away by floods exposing the white limestone underneath.