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Telford Spring - Mayo FL


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Telford Spring is a shore accessible fresh water dive site, located at 118 NE Suwannee Trail, Mayo, FL 32066. This dive site has an average rating of 4.00 out of 5 from 1 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 61-70ft/19-21m. The average visibility is 41-50ft/12-15m.

Portions of the following information were taken from Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 66.

Telford Spring is located on the west bank of the Suwannee River, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Mayo. The spring is surrounded by private land but was open to the public in April 2002. From the intersection of US 27 and SR 51 in Mayo, drive north on SR 51 for 4.8 miles (7.7 km), crossing over the Suwannee River, and turn east (right) at the flashing lights at Luraville Road in Luraville. From Luraville, turn south (right) onto the first graded road and travel 0.9 miles (1.5 km) to a fork in the road, just before the river. At the fork, turn right and travel 0.1 miles (0.2 km) to the spring. The left fork leads to the boat launching ramp.

Description – Telford Spring is situated along the east side of the Suwannee River at the head of a cove surrounded by steep sandy banks. The spring emerges from two caves within scalloped limestone whose passages connect underneath a 5 ft (1.5 m) by 7 ft (2.1 m) wide natural limestone bridge. The natural bridge over the spring was about 1 ft (0.3 m) higher than water level in April 2002. The main pool measures 66 ft (20.1 m) north to south and 51 ft (15.5 m) east to west and has a prominent boil. The maximum depth of the spring pool is 11.3 ft (3.4 m) over the vent. The spring and its run have a sand and limestone bottom. The water color is greenish and clear. Algae are sparse and there is virtually no aquatic vegetation. The short, shallow, 1 ft (0.3 m), spring run flows approximately 75 ft (22.9 m) into the dark, tannic waters of the Suwannee River. Land on the 12-15 ft (3.7-4.6 m) high, eroded banks supports a dense mixed hardwood/pine forest and there is a large unpaved parking area around the perimeter of the spring pool. A sinkhole with a clear water pool is located 150 ft (45.7 m) north of the spring across the sand access road. Spring water levels are directly tied to Suwannee River fluctuations.

Utilization - Telford Spring is surrounded by private lands and is a heavily used local recreation area.

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Comments

SantaFeSandy - 8/14/2019 1:05 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/13/2019. Average viz: 41-50ft/12-15m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
Tues. Aug. 13, 2019 - "We got in at the boat ramp and swam upriver to the spring...wow, the river is really flowing right now. We had to stay along the bank and grab hold of limbs and roots to get to the spring. Once in the cave the vis was at best about 50 feet with quite a lot of particulates in the water. The current was good! Made it easy to exit the cave just drifting out."
SantaFeSandy - 7/20/2016 10:48 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/20/2016. Average viz: 36-40ft/11-12m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
July 20, 2016. Today Guy Bryant and I made our way up the river to dive Telford Spring. I love this exploration stuff, therefore, new adventures are always on the horizon!

The geography of the Telford cave system is quite unique, and inviting. The flow was high trying to get inside the run, but once inside the cave, I’d call it moderate.

The waterlevels accessing the spring run allowed one to belly in, fully geared, however, to do it again, I’ll for sure take my dolly and trolly my gear down the private road, then drift down the river to exit.
We lost around 300 psi fighting the currents to get into the run, and then more gas once in the spring waters.

Once in the cave, the visibility started out at around 20 ft., but increased the deeper we penetrated. By the time we got to Terrapin Sink, it had increased to 30 ft. By the time we turned the dive, though neither of us had hit 1/3rd’s, we had traveled 3/4th’s of the way through Beulahland (approx. p. 2175 ft.), but before the Expressway, and the vis was around 40 ft.

What a lovely dive, and more divers should do it, to clean off that line, the arrows, and fin away some of that cave dust! ;-)

Nice pictorial link of Telford cave system.
lchr.org/a/26/iv/telford.html
SantaFeSandy - 7/20/2016 10:44 PM
Rating Added: 4
Very interesting system that changes its geographical configuration every few hundred feet or so. It can be a challenge to get to, and one must be cautious about leaving personal effects in view of unscrupulous people when diving, however, a site to explore nonetheless.