Florida Caverns State Park

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Florida Caverns State Park is a Florida's State Park, located in the Florida Panhandle near Marianna. It is home to the only air-filled caves accessible to tourists in Florida.

Florida Caverns is unusual for the state. The limestone caverns were formed over time, as water seeped into and dissolved local bedrock. The same phenomenon is occurring in many other locations throughout Florida; as years pass, local fissures may turn to holes, and holes into caves. However, the vast majority of Florida's groundwater erosion formations have stopped at the sinkhole stage and have not developed further into caves.

Some of the features found in the park are stalagmites, stalactites and flowstones. Here's an easy way to remember which direction stalactites and stalagmites are from: stalactites (with a 'c') come from the ceiling and stalagmites (with a 'g') come from the ground. Flowstone is exactly what it sounds like -- flowing or melting stone.

[edit] Recreational Activities

The park has such amenities as bicycling, birding, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking trails, horse trails, kayaking, picnicking areas, swimming, wildlife viewing and full camping facilities. Ranger-led tours are available on the hour from 9 AM to 4 PM, and take 30 to 40 minutes. It also has a visitor center, interpretive exhibit and concessions.

[edit] External links

	Protected Areas of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
State Parks	Amelia Island \| Anastasia \| Avalon \| Bahia Honda \| Bald Point \| Big Lagoon \| Big Talbot Island \| Bill Baggs Cape Florida \| Bulow Creek \| Caladesi Island \| Camp Helen \| Cayo Costa \| Collier-Seminole \| Curry Hammock \| Delnor-Wiggins Pass \| Devil's Millhopper \| Don Pedro Island \| Eden Gardens \| Egmont Key \| Falling Waters \| Faver-Dykes \| Florida Caverns \| Fort Clinch \| Fort Cooper \| Fort George Island \| Fort Pierce Inlet \| Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou \| Gasparilla Island \| George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier \| Highlands Hammock \| Hontoon Island \| Hugh Taylor Birch \| John D. MacArthur Beach \| John Pennekamp Coral Reef \| John U. Lloyd Beach \| Jonathan Dickinson \| Little Talbot Island \| Long Key \| Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson \| Mike Roess Gold Head Branch \| Navarre Beach \| North Peninsula \| O'Leno \| Oscar Scherer \| Ravine Gardens \| River Bluff Picnic Site \| Sebastian Inlet \| Skyway Fishing Pier \| St. George Island \| St. Joseph Peninsula \| Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center \| Stump Pass Beach \| Tomoka \| Torreya \| Windley Key Fossil Reef \|
Botanical	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens \| Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock \| Lignumvitae Key \| Washington Oaks State Gardens \|
Lakes, Rivers and Springs	Deer Lake \| Lake Griffin \| Lake June in Winter Scrub \| Lake Kissimmee \| Lake Louisa \| Lake Manatee \| Lake Talquin \| Alafia River \| Blackwater River \| Econfina River \| Guana River \| Hillsborough River \| Little Manatee River \| Myakka River \| Ochlockonee River \| Silver River \| Suwannee River \| Blue Spring \| De Leon Springs \| Edward Ball Wakulla Springs \| Fanning Springs \| Homosassa Springs Wildlife \| Ichetucknee Springs \| Lafayette Blue Springs \| Madison Blue Springs \| Manatee Springs \| Peacock Springs \| Rainbow Springs \| Troy Springs \| Wekiwa Springs \| Werner-Boyce Salt Springs \|
Recreation areas	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek \| Dead Lakes \| Dunns Creek \| Gamble Rogers Memorial \| Grayton Beach \| Henderson Beach \| Honeymoon Island \| Oleta River \| Perdido Key \| Ponce de Leon Springs \| St. Andrews \| Three Rivers \|
Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum \| Constitution Convention Museum \| Forest Capital Museum \| John Gorrie State Museum \| Ybor City Museum The Barnacle \| Bulow Plantation Ruins \| Dade Battlefield \| DeSoto Site \| Dudley Farm \| Fort Foster \| Fort Mose \| Fort Zachary Taylor \| Gamble Plantation \| Indian Key \| Koreshan \| Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead \| Natural Bridge Battlefield \| Olustee Battlefield \| Orman House \| Paynes Creek \| San Marcos de Apalache \| Yellow Bluff Fort \| Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River \| Lake Jackson Mounds \| Letchworth Mounds \| Madira Bickel Mound \| Mound Key \| San Pedro Underwater \|
Preserves and reserves	Anclote Key \| Cedar Key Scrub \| Charlotte Harbor \| Crystal River \| Estero Bay \| Fakahatchee Strand \| Kissimmee Prairie \| Lower Wekiva River \| Paynes Prairie \| Pumpkin Hill Creek \| River Rise \| Rock Springs Run \| San Felasco Hammock \| Savannas \| Seabranch \| St. Lucie Inlet \| St. Sebastian River \| Tarkiln Bayou \| Topsail Hill \| Tosohatchee \| Waccasassa Bay \| Yellow River Marsh \|
Trails	Gainesville-Hawthorne \| General James A. Van Fleet \| Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail \| Withlacoochee \|