FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY


Group Location Lat. 280 53' N, Long. 820 35' W (sections 28 and 21, T. 18 S, R 17 E). The
springs are located in Kings Bay west of the City of Crystal River. Kings Bay is approxi-
mately 60 miles (96 km) north of Tampa and 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Ocala.

Group Description Kings Bay is the head of Crystal River. There are about 30 known
springs, including Tarpon Hole and Hunter Spring, that either issue from the bottom of
Kings Bay or flow into the bay from side creek heads. Their combined flow feeds Crystal
River, which flows approximately 7 miles (11 km) west to the Gulf of Mexico. Surrounding
land is Gulf Coastal Lowlands with brackish marsh and hardwood-palm hammock to the
west and the City of Crystal River to the east. The whole system is tidally influenced, and
Kings Bay is brackish. Rosenau et al. (1977) referred to these springs as the Crystal River
Springs Group.

HUNTER SPRING Lat. 280 53' 40.0" N, Long. 820 35' 33.0" W (NW 1 SW 1 SE 1 sec. 21,
T. 18 S, R. 17 E). This spring issues vertically from the bottom of a conical depression near
the head of a side creek channel feeding the eastside of Kings Bay. Another spring is at the
head of the channel. Hunter Spring pool is circular and measures 210 ft (64 m) in diameter.
Depth measured over the vent is 13 ft (4 m). Spring has sandy bottom with some limestone
near the vent. The spring bottom is choked with dark green filamentous algae, and some
Hydrilla is present. Water is clear and bluish. There is a large boil in pool center. Land on
the north rises to approximately 4 ft (1.2 m) above water and is a county maintained recre-
ational park. Land on all other sides of spring pool is extensively developed with apart-
ments and houses. A concrete sea wall entirely surrounds pool except for outflow and inflow.
There is a square swimming dock floating in the center of the spring pool. This spring was
closed to swimming during summer 2001 due to high coliform bacteria levels detected in the
water (Eric Dehaven, SWFWMD, pers. comm.).

TARPON HOLE SPRING Lat. 280 52' 54.6" N, Long. 820 35' 41.3" W (NW 1 NW 1 SW 1
sec. 28, T. 18 S, R. 17 E). This spring issues from a deep, conical depression underneath
Kings Bay on the south side of Banana Island. The spring pool measures approximately 450
ft (137 m) north to south and 550 ft (168 m) east to west. Depth measured over the vent is
58 ft (17.6m). Water is typically clear and bluish, but can be cloudy during high tide. There
is a large boil present in center of pool. Visibility was low when visited in October 2001.
Algae cover limestone substrates. Vent is a large circular hole in limestone. Nearby islands
to the north are part of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge and have marsh grasses
and hardwood-palm hammock. Land to the east is privately owned with many houses and
a marina. This spring is a favorite scuba diving location and manatee observation area.

Utilization All of Kings Bay and most of its springs are used for swimming, manatee
observation, pleasure boating, and scuba diving. The west side of Kings Bay and some
islands within are part of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. The city of Crystal
River nearly adjoins the east side of Kings Bay.

Discharge Jones et al. (1998): 975 ft3/s