Florida has more than 1,000 known freshwater springs, one of the densest concentrations of springs in the world. Springs are Florida’s original tourist attractions and for centuries, visitors have flocked to them to marvel at the billions of gallons of cool, clear water that gush out of the porous limestone aquifer every day

First used as water sources by indigenous Americans, Florida’s springs were visited by Spanish explorers searching for the fabled Fountain of Youth in the 1500s and became some of the state’s first tourist attractions during the 1800s. Spring houses sprang up to allow visitors to bathe in sulfur springs, which were thought to have healing properties. Glass bottomed boats plied spring runs, allowing visitors to marvel at pristine underwater worlds without having to get wet. The air-clear visibility and gleaming white sandy bottoms of Florida’s springs also attracted early filmmakers and underwater scenes from Sea Hunt, I Spy, the Tarzan films, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and several others were filmed in their cool waters.

Over the last several decades, a combination of development, climate change, over-pumping of the aquifer and pollution from agriculture and sewage has erased much of Florida’s pristine underwater spring landscape.