The Dead River is a distributary of the Alapaha River in North Florida. When the water level is sufficiently high, water from the Alapaha is siphoned off into a series of sinks, sinkholes, swallets and ponors. Technically, the final massive swallet featured here is called a "ponor," but most people refer to it colloquially as The Dead River Sink.
Click on any image for a larger, expandable and downloadable view.
An enormous volume of water is moving into the cave at the bottom of this 50-foot limestone bluff. This water reappears 18 river miles to the southwest at the Alapaha Rise and the Holton Creek Rise, two of Florida's 1st magnitude springs. At high flow, the Alapaha River discharge exceeds the capacity of the swallet system to capture water and excess water flows to the Suwannee River via a normally dry stream channel.
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The Alapaha River originates in south Georgia, and only a small part of the river's drainage basin is located in Florida. In Florida, the Alapaha encounters karstic limestone and dolostone for the first time. At low flow, the river is entirely captured by 6 swallets in the river mainstream and the large blind valley swallet off the mainstem (The Dead River).
The current river level (between 60 and 62 feet) is ideal for viewing the river crashing into the cave at the bottom of the massive Dead River sink. However, there are many hazards in this forest and one should take precautions if/when viewing. First there are more insects than one could imagine. In all trips to the Jennings Bluff Tract that protects this forest, I've been attacked by chiggers (winter, spring, summer and fall). These are mutant chiggers. They bite through DEEP WOODS OFF or similar insect repellants. The only thing I've found to be effective on the Jennings Bluff chiggers is permethrin creams (insecticidal creams) that must be purchased with a prescription. Using duct tape to tape your pant legs to hiking boots helps, but is not 100% effective.
Getting to the spot where I made these videos and the selfie (above) is difficult when the river is low (now) due to slippery mud covering limestone rocks, deep swallets and sinkholes, and steep cliffs. To get here one needs hiking boots, hiking poles, a steely attitude and a very cautious approach to the sinkhole. When the river is higher than 70 feet it is impossible to get here for photos without a boat (photo below).
The two images above were taken from about the same location. The massive swallet is in the middle of the image above but 20+ feet of water cover the ponor, cave, and violent flood of water, the torrent appears as calm as a forest pond, except for a swirling vortex (whirlpool) adjacent to the rock face.
At very high water levels the water of the Dead River distributary backs up into and emerges from neighboring sinkholes and swallets to the south. Each of these depressions is 20-30 acres in size or larger surrounded by steep limestone cliffs and dense mixed hardwood forests.
The 202 mile long Alapaha River/Dead River have a massive elevation range that varies widely from 38.5' to 150' NGVD. Prime viewing of the main cave and swallet with water flow appears to be 55-62' NGVD.
The Devil's Den
As if these forests weren't spooky enough and filled with ample geologic wonders, 7 large swallets are located in the vicinity of the Alapaha River and the Dead River Sink. The Devil's Den, in the Alapaha River bed along with 2 other swallets is the largest. While locals call it The Devil's Den others have referred to it as the Suck Hole, or the Alapaha River Sink. Depending on the river's elevation these swallets can be dry, semi-dry or invisible, or covered by many feet of river water and only visible by the whirlpool they create on the river's surface.
The entire forest puts me on edge with all of its unusual features, its incredible insects, big trees and emptiness. One rarely encounters another human in these woods. Still, I find myself coming back here often to see what else I might find, and to prove my worth against the insects.
See Florida Geologic Survey - Swallets for more information. Compare the thermal image map below to the swallet map above for some idea of the bathymetry of the river-swallet system.
Below is another image of the main sink of the Dead River during very high water. The swallet is in the center of the image adjacent to the limestone bluff. All that is visible on the surface is a whirlpool of plastic debris that is constantly visible whenever water is flowing into the cave, no matter how deep the water. In this image the Alapaha was about 75-feet NGVD and the water here at the terminus of the Dead River was at least 25 feet deep, though it seems pond-like in this image.
About a mile from the entrance of Jennings Bluff Tract you'll find the Dead River Sign. This is the only hint you'll get as to the location of the great sink.
On a recent visit the sign had been moved to where the dirt road splits. If you're visiting in a car this is the last safe place to leave the car and hike the remaining mile or so in. In a truck you have to guess at the route by following tracks made by previous vehicles. When you finally reach the location of the ponor cave you'll see a wooden barrier and concrete steps that lead down to the cave. Sometimes the steps are completely covered by the river meaning you won't see much but a swirl of water, with the swallet dozens of feet below the surface. At other times you'll encounter the dramatic chasm the river has carved into the limestone, and the torrent of water flooding into the cave at the bottom.
Check the USGS water level gauge on the Alapaha River at Jennings, Florida before visiting if you really want to see the action. The images and video of the cascade of water into the cave were made with a water level of about 62-feet. Something between 55 and 65-feet is ideal. Anything lower and the river might be dry, anything higher and you might only see a swirl of water.
Alapaha Rise
The Alapaha Rise is in this gated neighborhood on the Suwannee River near Jasper, Florida. It is across the street from Gibson County Park. If the gate is open you can get in to see the rise. Most times I've been by here the gate is closed.
Holton Creek Rise
Holton Creek Rise is easier to find, but with some effort. Here, with very high water there isn't much to see until you get downstream. The spring appears as a big boiling lake emerging from a limestone cliff. At lower water level it is more impressive.
Within the Holton Creek Tract there are also two champion Cypress Trees, both are difficult to reach during high water. Phillip's Cypress is very near the spring at 30°26'11.0"N 83°03'21.7"W (or 30.436400, -83.056020), Hollow Bottom Cypress is located at 30°26'01.6"N 83°02'14.1"W (or 30.433780, -83.037260). Again, refer to the flow of the Alapaha River at Jennings, Florida and look for a level <60-feet for optimum viewing of these features.
Within the Jennings Bluff Tract there is a cemetery that dates to the 18th century and a spring that was drilled into the bluff above the river around the same time. The spring still flows out of a pipe left by settlers. This is a very difficult climb but worth it to see the bluff from this angle (below). In the middle of this image you'll see the pipe and water pouring out. The bluff is about 200 feet above the Alapaha River below. Again, beware of ticks and chiggers in this area.
I'm calling this Jennings Bluff Spring. To reach the spring hike north from the cemetery. There is a barely visible path. You will see marks on trees marking the edge of Jennings Bluff Tract and beginning of Suwannee River Water Management District Lands (image below). Follow along these marks and an old fence line (sort of a trail) until you smell sulphur. The spring is downhill from the sulphur smell.
I'm not sure if this spring has an official name but it was obviously manmade. The spring is more powerful and emitting clearer water than some springs in Central Florida. It creates a waterfall down about 50 feet of the very steep bluff above the Alapaha River.
When you encounter signs for the Jennings Bluff Plantation you know you've gone too far. The sign below is adjacent to the cemetery.
The Plantation signs are all through the forest and well maintained. They obviously do not want uninvited visitors. The plantation is mostly to the south of Jennings Bluff Tract.
In the Jennings Bluff Cemetery most of the graves face away from the Alapaha River. I'm not sure why the graves have this orientation unless the church was between the gravestones and the river 200 years ago. Today there is no church. The cemetery is interesting but hardly worth the additional bug bites. In winter the chiggers are everywhere, in summer the biting gnats like this open area of the forest. The river is behind these headstones.
I have encountered fast moving groups of large deer in this area. They do not appear to be particularly afraid of the occasional hiker. I suspect they are the vectors for many of the particularly nasty bugs found here (chiggers and ticks).
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