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Lithia's
Past
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Lithia's
clear waters meet the Alifia River |
| The
original 160 acre tract was purchased in 1937 as a fresh water source
for the Gardinier,Inc. East plant but was not used for that purpose
until 1967. Gardinier began leasing the property to the county in
1957 with the terms that it be used as a park. Before the Gardinier
purchase it was relitively unknown and had some agricultural use.
A few locals used it as a swimming hole, at that time it was only
accessable by hike or horseback. |
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How
did Lithia get here?
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| To
understand how Lithia got here you must understand how all springs
came to a modern state. Lithia Springs is no different than any
other Florida spring in this respect.The area that is now Florida
was(well before dinosaurs)part of a great plateau of mountains that
ran south from the main continental land mass of North America.
In time it sank slowly beneath the ocean, leaving in it's wake a
large shallow sea between the gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic ocean.
This new "sea" was ideally suited to marine life. Shellfish,
coral and microscopic animals flourished. As each organism died
its protected shell remained forming limestone. After every generation
the limestone thickened. The gradual accumulation of limestone grew
to such magnitude(over thousands of centuries) the weight forced
the plateau to settled deep into the earth. This went on for millions
of years. Geological forces began to stress the sediments, warping
them into a massive dome shape over the rock plateau. Jetting out
of the sea this created a new land mass. This was soon covered with
lush vegetation and many creatures roamed as well. The porous limestone
was saturated with salt water in it's final emergence from the sea.Fresh
water falling as rain was slowly absorbed by the limestone and floated
upon the heavier salt water within the sediments. As more centuries
past the rain water gradually displaced the salt water and forced
it back into the sea. Decaying vegetation mixed with the fresh water
as it percolated into the ground,forming a mild carbonic acid solution.
Combining with the pourus nature of the limestone,the acidic water
dissolved a honeycomb of tunnels,caverns and fissures deep in the
bedrock of Florida. Basically the subterrain of Florida is like
a giant rock sponge saturated with fresh water and meshed with underground
rivers that flow through complex tunnels and passageways. The limestone
base in Florida extends to depths greater than 10,000 feet. This
is the Florida Aquifer! Lithia Springs is just one point where the
limestone of the aquifer breaks the surface and the result is a
beautiful spring with pure "naturally" filtered water. |
Floridas Paleo-Indians
belevied springs held sacred waters for curing the sick.
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