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Executive Summary
From May 22 until August 30 of 2007, the discharge level at Weeki Wachee spring dropped to a level
that allowed for cave divers to gain effective entry into the cave system at the spring.
The KUR team successfully executed exploration dives and the necessary in-water decompression to
explore approximately 6,700 feet in multiple passages at an average depth of 265 Feet Fresh Water
(ffw) with a maximum depth of 407 ffw.
During this period, over 20 working dives (exploration, set-up dives, surveying dives and video dives)
were performed. Some of these dives required two or more 'set-up' dives where teams brought diver
propulsion vehicles (DPVs) and tanks through the restriction and staged them within the system. For a
complete discussion of the key exploration dives, see the Exploration Summary in the appendices.
The system-wide morphology of the explored cave is predominately gigantic tunnels, averaging no
less than 50 feet across and 50 feet in height, but often much larger with break-down covered floors,
punctuated with even broader chambers situated like numerous large meals along the body of a
python. Figure 1 provides a generalized cross section of the tunnel typical of the main trunk tunnel in
the area between the Dead Marshes Tunnel and the F well/Pit split and provides some indication of
just how large the tunnels are in scale. This is also the area where the suspected speleothems were
observed and are visible toward the either wall.
As opposed to the expected single dominant conduit, multiple, significant branching tunnels of similar
size were identified within the first 6,000 feet of penetration from the entrance. Several other, as yet
unexplored, tunnels are also suspected. Many of these 'leads' were identified and then left for future
exploration as the focus was on locating the F Well and the Twin Dees (A.K.A. Little Spring)
connections.
Beyond the vertical entry fracture, the system maintains a fairly consistent horizontal level with an
average depth of approximately 265 ffw, with infrequent fluctuations, which are primarily due to the
degree of breakdown on the floor. The depth of the cave trends slightly downward the further in from
the entrance you travel; the one notable exception was the discovery of the drop to The Pit at
approximately 3,700 feet into the system, which dips down to 407 ffw. But thereafter, the tunnel
returned to a shallower average depth of 265 ffw in the tunnel beyond The Pit. Given the trajectory of
the tunnel past The Pit, KUR expects this tunnel to horizontally intersect with the large paleo-sink
approximately 1,500 feet to the east of The Pit.
Aside from the general goal to 'explore as much as possible' within the limited timeframe, two distinct
goals existed. The KUR exploration team hoped to 1) make a definitive connection to the Twin Dees
Spring cave system that had been explored in the 1990s and 2) identify the intersection point of the 'F'
well with the Weeki Wachee Spring cave system.
The Twin Dees Connection
KUR could not identify which, if any, of the tunnels explored to date would ultimately connect into the
primary source tunnel explored from the Twin Dees Spring.
During the 2007 Weeki Wachee exploration effort, Twin Dees had no positive discharge currently and
none during the previous two years. During dives into the Twin Dees source tunnel during the 1990s,
the moving water there was observed to occasionally carry fine, suspended white particulate. Given
these two factors, in conjunction with the cave trend discovered to date, the two most logical, possible
candidates for a connection would be either the Dead Marshes Tunnel (due to the stagnant water and
the fact that Twin Dees is currently stagnant) or the 'F' well tunnel (due to the fact that it has a similar
water quality as the Twin Dees Tunnel). If there is some form of connection via the F well tunnel, KUR
expects to find a split with a westward trending tunnel that has no water movement.
The F Well connection
While the documented survey data did not align directly with an intersection to the F well, the
exploration team believes that the tunnel, dubbed the F well tunnel, did intersect the F well due to
observed changes in the silt and water quality. The divers observed a sudden, significant increase in
the amount of silt covering the breakdown and a change in its composition to a more orange appearance
for approximately 200 feet at the point in the system that aligned closely with where the F well was
expected to be. This silt could have been the result of the well drilling and downward movement of
materials during and subsequent to the drilling. The water quality for the same 200 feet of tunnel also
carried a distinct cloudy, haze; this haze abruptly ended as the silt composition returned to predominate
characteristics. Alternatively, this area may contain an intersection with another tunnel or even a
natural feature that is allowing downward percolation of surficial water into the system. Given the
imprecise nature of the surveying process used, minor corrections at various points or a single point
could align the tunnel to the well. While the connection with the F well was not definitively confirmed,
there was significant circumstantial evidence that the tunnel explored did contain the F well breach of
the tunnel.
Lastly, in one section of the cave, approximately 2,700 feet in and at a depth of 280 ffw, what appeared
to be some form of speleothems were identified in piles on the floor and others were still hanging intact
from the underside of certain breakdown slabs. These appear, upon initial observation, to bear a
striking resemblance to similar structures seen in the Eagles Nest systems just a few miles to the
northwest of Weeki Wachee.
Penetration Distances
The table below lists summary distances to point of penetration from the Weeki Wachee Spring cave entrance.
| Location |
|
Distance |
| "Sheck's Folly" Restriction |
|
220' |
| White Death |
|
997' |
| River Room |
|
1,158' |
| Helm's Deep |
|
1,700' |
| End of Dead Marshes Tunnel |
|
2,442' |
| Mount Doom |
|
3,655' |
| End of Moria (after Mount Doom) |
|
4,229' |
| 'F' Well Intersection |
|
3,961' |
| End on 'F' Line |
|
4,271' |
| |
| Total New Line Laid |
|
6,728' |
|
