Devil's Millhopper

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Devil's Millhopper is the only geological site in the state of Florida's park system and it's located on the northwestern edge of my town. I have written about it twice in the Sinkholes thread starting here: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/156585/thread

The sinkhole is 117 feet deep and 500 feet across, and has a 232 step boardwalk leading down to the bottom where rain water trickles down into the Floridan Aquifer. Since we have had so much rain lately, and a real gusher last night, I thought it would be interesting to see how the large, funnel-shaped sinkhole has been impacted.

I could hear the water falling before I ever got close to the hole. A forest of tightly packed, youngish trees prevents seeing the hole until you are right on top of it, but there was no mistaking the sound of water cascading down the limerock sides.
















The bottom of the hole, which is often close to being totally dry, was overflowing with water to the point it covered a part of the boardwalk.









Looking back up to where I'd just come:

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Of course, going back up is the harder part of the trek.




One last look at the murky, brown water.



The hole is ringed by a half-mile path.







Here's one of the main streams, gaining momentum heading for the sinkhole.




Sometimes there are interesting sights along the path.






A trip back once the leaves begin to change color is in the plans.

[mossie]

Quite a place, and an interesting geological feature. It would seem possible that there is a cave system associated with this. Limestone is a soft rock and gets eaten away by acid and erosion. It also seems to produce some exotic spiders.

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Caves for sure, Mossie. Most likely all under water. Practically the whole state of Florida sits on top of a network of limestone that is easily dissolved. Much of it makes up the Floridan Aquifer.

"Rain water becomes a weak carbonic acid from contact with carbon dioxide in the air. As the water soaks into the ground, it passes through dead plant material which causes the acid to become even stronger. When this water reaches the limestone layer, small cavities are formed as the rock is slowly dissolved away. Eventually the ceiling of the cavern becomes so thin that it can't support the weight of the earth above it. When the ceiling collapses, a sinkhole us formed." Florida Park Service Fact Sheet

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That poor little dog looks like it thought a nice walk just became a very bad idea.

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The worst for the little doggies was not walking through the water, unfortunately. It was having to walk back up all those stairs. I don't understand why some people subject their animals to those conditions. Of course, some of the little kiddies also had a difficult time climbing the stairs so occasional whining could be heard over the sound of the rushing water.