I am not a passionate caver but I have done some cenote diving in the Yucatan. How does the cave diving in Florida compare? I am interested in descriptions of the similarities and differences rather than just "better or "worse".
FL Caves
- Thread starter FishDiver
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
kidsdream
Contributor
Ok I will take a crack at your question. Quite of few of the North Florida caves suck as Ginnie Springs, Little River and the caves around Marianna/Jackson Blue have considerable flow that you have to contend with on the way in - read that as often you can not swim, but must pull yourself in. Also in my opinion, the NFL caves are more prone to silt up and stay that way for an extended period of time if you much up the bottom.
The water temp is cooler as well, being in the 70-72 degree range consistently. Also there are fewer closely spaces sink holes/entries unlike many of the popular cenotes. Meaning typically once you get past the cavern zone it is going to be "dark" without the Catherdral like effect you might be used to.
There are no holoclines as in NFL as there is no salt water intrusion. Also navigation/line is easier to follow (for certified cave divers only) compared to many MX cave passages and often start much closer to to open water.
Florida cave diving is only for divers certified in overhead protocol with just few exception including the Ballroom at Ginnie Springs.
The water temp is cooler as well, being in the 70-72 degree range consistently. Also there are fewer closely spaces sink holes/entries unlike many of the popular cenotes. Meaning typically once you get past the cavern zone it is going to be "dark" without the Catherdral like effect you might be used to.
There are no holoclines as in NFL as there is no salt water intrusion. Also navigation/line is easier to follow (for certified cave divers only) compared to many MX cave passages and often start much closer to to open water.
Florida cave diving is only for divers certified in overhead protocol with just few exception including the Ballroom at Ginnie Springs.
w ripley
Contributor
One key difference is that the FL caves are basically limestone that have been carved out after eons of water running thru them. The Mexican caves were at one time dry, hence all of the formations.
FL caves are generally deeper and colder.
Both are absolutely fantastic, if you like caves.
FL caves are generally deeper and colder.
Both are absolutely fantastic, if you like caves.
Florida caves don't have the stalagmites and stalactites found in Mexican caves. As wripley noted, Florida caves were formed by the water. They have always been underground rivers. The Mexican caves were once dry caves. While there are many divers who travel to the Yucatan every year and do guided dives in the cenotes regularly, that's not a common occurrence in Florida. There are some caverns that some people have deemed to be "safe" for OW divers, but I disagree with those assessments. I believe any overhead diving should only be done after proper training. There are lots of videos of both. all over the Internet. Here's a link to get you started - Cave Diving Videos
They're just . . . different.
There is no cavern tour industry in Florida, like there is in Mexico, for a variety of reasons, including depth, flow, and smaller and less labyrinthine cavern zones.
It's a tossup as to whether the first thing you will notice about Florida caves is how much colder the water is (generally around 69 degrees) or how strong the flow is. Several of the typical "tourist" caves, like Ginnie and JB, have enormous flow, and it is a much bigger physical challenge to dive them. (On the other hand, tables and stairs in FL tend to be in much better repair and much better designed than those in MX, so although the dive is hard, the entry and exit are easier.)
As mentioned, the Fl caves were never dry, so they don't have the extravagant dripstone formations that MX has. But the limestone is extensively carved by the flow, and coated with geothite, and the stone itself is often stained golden, so the caves have their own very different beauty. Diving them is a different experience, too; diving in MX is all about finesse and delicacy and perfect technique; diving in Florida requires more cave contact, and benefits greatly from an ability to read the cave and understand the water flow, so you can get out of the worst of it.
Many Mexican caves are extensive and remain quite shallow. A lot of the caves in Florida head for the 100 foot zone (or deeper) fairly quickly. Florida divers tend to use bigger tanks and overfill them, and if you are going to do long dives there, you have to understand and be able to do some decompression. Florida navigation doesn't tend, in the tourist sites I've seen, to be anywhere near as Byzantine and scary as Mexico -- but at the same time, there is often no exit other than the way you came in.
It is no misstatement that the silt in Florida is more evil that that in the sites I have dived in MX. A geologist told me the red silt in Fl is erosion, basically from the red clay country of Georgia. The sediment is extremely fine and almost oily, and disturbs even with careful technique, and once it is in the water, it does not settle quickly. Even in the dusty caves in MX, the sediment is far more forgiving. (Please excuse me if it is different in the deep caves -- I haven't been there.)
The caves are just . . . different. They reward different strengths in the diver, and offer different attractions. I like both, but since my diving strengths are in finesse and not power, and I'm braindead at depth, I do better in MX.
There is no cavern tour industry in Florida, like there is in Mexico, for a variety of reasons, including depth, flow, and smaller and less labyrinthine cavern zones.
It's a tossup as to whether the first thing you will notice about Florida caves is how much colder the water is (generally around 69 degrees) or how strong the flow is. Several of the typical "tourist" caves, like Ginnie and JB, have enormous flow, and it is a much bigger physical challenge to dive them. (On the other hand, tables and stairs in FL tend to be in much better repair and much better designed than those in MX, so although the dive is hard, the entry and exit are easier.)
As mentioned, the Fl caves were never dry, so they don't have the extravagant dripstone formations that MX has. But the limestone is extensively carved by the flow, and coated with geothite, and the stone itself is often stained golden, so the caves have their own very different beauty. Diving them is a different experience, too; diving in MX is all about finesse and delicacy and perfect technique; diving in Florida requires more cave contact, and benefits greatly from an ability to read the cave and understand the water flow, so you can get out of the worst of it.
Many Mexican caves are extensive and remain quite shallow. A lot of the caves in Florida head for the 100 foot zone (or deeper) fairly quickly. Florida divers tend to use bigger tanks and overfill them, and if you are going to do long dives there, you have to understand and be able to do some decompression. Florida navigation doesn't tend, in the tourist sites I've seen, to be anywhere near as Byzantine and scary as Mexico -- but at the same time, there is often no exit other than the way you came in.
It is no misstatement that the silt in Florida is more evil that that in the sites I have dived in MX. A geologist told me the red silt in Fl is erosion, basically from the red clay country of Georgia. The sediment is extremely fine and almost oily, and disturbs even with careful technique, and once it is in the water, it does not settle quickly. Even in the dusty caves in MX, the sediment is far more forgiving. (Please excuse me if it is different in the deep caves -- I haven't been there.)
The caves are just . . . different. They reward different strengths in the diver, and offer different attractions. I like both, but since my diving strengths are in finesse and not power, and I'm braindead at depth, I do better in MX.
I agree with needing the ability to read the cave, but with that ability comes much less contact. Diving in Florida only requires more cave contact if you haven't learned to read the caves very well. That being said, I've been in passages both in Mexico and Florida with little flow in which pulling with a finger was less damaging to the cave than trying to fin through.
I'm glad you included the "tourist sites" comment. I can show you some Byzantine and scary stuff in Florida. Areas of cave with over 2 dozen Ts within a relatively small area.
That experience in Twin really had an effect on you, huh? LOL!
Yes, I was impressed with the amount of red ooze I still had on my gear when we got out, 30 minutes later!
I did try to qualify my comments with "tourist cave". I've gone a little bit beyond the most typical tourist cruises in MX, but my Florida experience, I think, is typical of what someone diving there for the first time or two would have.
I did try to qualify my comments with "tourist cave". I've gone a little bit beyond the most typical tourist cruises in MX, but my Florida experience, I think, is typical of what someone diving there for the first time or two would have.
Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. I am considering moving to SE Florida in a few years largely for the access to great diving. At my level of skill and interest in cave diving I believe I will stick to Mexico.
Similar threads
Trip Report
Quick Trip Report to Belize:
