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Ocala. Event Guide:
Juniper Springs
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Contact Information:
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10863 East Highway 40 
Silver Springs, FL 34488
352-669-3522
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Description:
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The springs, in a semitropical wooded setting, form an oblong pool, elongate east, 135 ft long and 80 ft wide. The springs are the headwaters of Juniper Creek, which meanders to Lake George in the St. Johns River basin, about 10 mi NE. The pool is enclosed by a rock and concrete retaining wall in which is a controlled outlet at the north-east edge of the pool. The bottom of the pool is mostly sandy, and according to Ferguson and others (1947), inflow to the pool is from three cavities in the pool bottom. The maximum water depths over the floors of the cavities were 16.1, 16.6 and 17.8 ft on April 4, 1946. Other than over the cavities, the average depth of the pool at that time was about 12 ft. On April 28, 1972, water depth graded irregularly from about 4 ft at the west end of the pool to about 20 ft at the east end. From the pool, water flows east through a short flume that provides a head drop of about 5 ft to turn an undershot water wheel. At one time the water wheel operated an electric generator that produced power for the buildings and grounds of the Juniper Springs Recreational Area. Although the wheel is still turned by the flow from the spring pool, the small rustic plant building to which the wheel is attached has been converted to a visitors center for the recreational area. The spring water is clean and clear and its dissolved solids concentration is low compared with most Florida springs.
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