Looking Down Into The Cenote
by D Hackett
Title
Looking Down Into The Cenote
Artist
D Hackett
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
Looking Down Into The Cenote
Devil's Den is a karst window, in which the roof over a subterranean river has collapsed, exposing the water to the open surface, near Williston, Florida. Bought in 1993 by our current owners, this natural wonder has been transformed from a simple scuba diving site to a world class tourist attraction. It is privately owned and operated as a SCUBA diving training and recreational facility. On cold winter mornings you can see steam, like smoke, rising from the chimney opening. Thus, the early settlers gave the name Devil's Den.
With crystal clear water the water in the underground river is a constant 72 �F (22 �C) degrees. In cold weather water vapor rising from the surface of the river forms a visible plume above the entrance to the cave, which suggested a chimney from Hell to early settlers. The opening to the surface was originally a small solution hole, through which visitors had to squeeze to reach the water which is 60 feet below the ground. The opening was enlarged in the 1990s to ease access. The cave expands below water level (a shape described as an "inverted mushroom") to up to 200 feet (61 m) across. The water level in the cave has fallen along with the water table in the area. The cave was opened to the public as a dive site in the early 1990s.
Four underwater passages extend from the pool under the opening, from 5 feet (1.5 m) to 90 feet (27 m) under the surface of the water. This underground spring inside a dry cave has been home to many extinct animal fossils dating back to the Pleistocene Age, which are on display at The University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. The passage called chamber 3, 70 feet (21 m) under water, contained animal and human remains and artifacts. The animal remains, which appeared to be associated with the human remains and artifacts, were from extinct (Pleistocene) species, including mastodons, ground sloths, camels, horses, dire wolves, bog lemmings, Florida spectacled bears, saber-toothed cats, and peccaries. The human remains have been dated to about 7,500 BC.
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May 4th, 2016
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