OPEN FILE REPORT NO. 85


Location Lat. 28 56' 51.0" N, Long. 81 20' 22.5" W (NW 1 NW 1 NE 1 sec. 8, T. 18 S, R
30 E). Volusia Blue Spring is 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Deland in Blue Spring State
Park. From Deland, drive south on US 17. Turn west on CR 4142 in Orange City and con-
tinue 3.25 miles (5.2 km) to Blue Spring State Park. The spring is at the head of Blue Run
about .25 miles (0.4 km) north of the parking area and is reached by a wooden boardwalk
trail on the east bank of the spring run.

Description Blue Spring has a circular spring pool in a conical depression with a notable
boil in the center. The water is sky blue with a greenish tinge. The spring pool measures
135 ft (41 m) north to south and 105 ft (32 m) east to west. Depth of the spring measured
over the vent is 20 ft (9.3 m), however, as with the majority of Florida springs, much greater
depths are attained back in the cave system. The bottom of the spring is limestone and
sand. The vent is an elongated crack in the bedrock limestone. Algae are ubiquitous in the
spring and its run. No other aquatic vegetation was observed during the October 2001 visit.
The spring has steep sandy banks that rise to approximately 15 to 20 ft (4.5 to 6 m) above
water level. The spring run also has steep sandy banks, and it flows south and west approx-
imately 1050 ft (320 m) to the St. Johns River through dense hardwood and palm forest.

Utilization The spring and its surroundings are owned and managed by Blue Springs
State Park. It is an excellent place for nature study, swimming, scuba diving, and canoeing.
Camping and hiking also are permitted in the park. Full facilities are available.

Discharge Average discharge from March 1932 to August 1974 was 162 ft3/s (360 meas-
urements) (Rosenau et al., 1977).

 Maximum (November 1, 1960) 214 ft3/s
 Minimum (November 6, 1935) 63 ft3/s
 November 24, 2001 87 ft3/s