Did Ponce de Leon Really Find the Springs in North Walton?
[[{“value”:” By Helen Petre No, probably not, but the springs named after him are well worth protecting. I usually write about wild places and organisms in Freeport and South Walton, some even in south Bay County, but now that it is winter, the 68-degree Fahrenheit water in the north Walton springs calls to me. Well, sort of. It is still cold, but kind of exciting to get in, just to say I did. The source Florida has more springs than any other state, and perhaps any place on Earth, with over 1,000 in the state. The springs are our water source. In fact, 92% of our drinking water comes from the Floridan Aquifer, and the water that comes out of the springs is this water. Springs flow because the pressure in the aquifer is high. As we continue to develop land and use water, that pressure goes down and the amount of water released by the springs decreases. Both Morrison and Ponce de Leon springs are second-magnitude springs based on outflow. The water in the Floridan Aquifer is a constant 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The aquifer is composed of porous limestone and dolomite that is hundreds of feet thick and was formed 35 million years ago. The Florida Aquifer is fed by rainwater that seeps into the ground north of Florida and flows south by gravity through the porous limestone. The water in this aquifer is our groundwater, and as such, is susceptible to contamination. Many places are named for the Spanish...
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