How old is Ocala Limestone?
The Ocala Limestone is a white, chalky, highly fossiliferous limestone that was deposited in a warm, shallow marine environment more than 35 million years ago.
How was Florida formed geologically?
Geologists estimate the age of the Earth at more than 4.5 billion years. The Florida plateau, which is the platform upon which Florida is perched, was formed about 530 million years ago by a combination of volcanic activity and marine sedimentation during the early Ordovician Period.
How was Florida limestone formed?
The landmass that is now Florida remained shallowly submerged beneath the ocean. Coral, shellfish, and fish skeletons piled up. This created a layer of limestone hundreds (in some places thousands) of feet thick. As the Appalachian Mountains eroded, sand and clay were deposited over Florida�s limestone layer.
What is Florida ground made of?
Underlying all of them is the fact that Florida is built on a bedrock of carbonate, primarily limestone. That rock dissolves relatively easily in rainwater, which becomes acidic as it seeps through the soil. The resulting terrain, called “karst,” is honeycombed with cavities.
What type of rock is Ocala limestone?
Scott in 1991. The Ocala Limestone consists of almost pure limestones with occasional dolomites. It can be subdivided into both lower and upper facies with the lower facies composed of a whitish to cream-colored, fine to medium grained, poorly to moderately hard, fossil rich grainstone and packstone.
Why is Silver Springs water so clear?
In Silver Springs, where the water was once so clear it was as if the fish swam through air, there are now goopy mats of algae so thick that alligators can perch atop them. And in the Ocala National Forest, the gurgle of fresh water pouring out of popular Silver Glen Spring is slowly growing saltier.
What was Florida like 10000 years ago?
Florida also was a much drier land 10,000 years ago. Many of our present-day streams, rivers and lakes were not here then, and ground water levels were much deeper. As a result, the search for water took on the utmost importance for early Floridians.
How deep is the Florida Platform?
Structure. The platform forms a rampart between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The platform’s western edge, or Florida Escarpment, is normally defined where water depths at 300 feet (91 m) drop dramatically and in a short distance to 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
Was Florida a swamp?
Back then, only about 300 hardy pioneers lived in modern-day South Florida. There was really just one reason South Florida remained so unpleasant and so empty for so long: water. The region was simply too soggy and swampy for development. Its low-lying flatlands were too vulnerable to storms and floods.
Is Florida made of limestone?
The state is largely underlain by porous limestone, which can hold immense amounts of water in underground aquifers. As groundwater slowly flows through the limestone, it forms a landscape called karst, known for features like caves, springs and sinkholes.
Is Florida mostly limestone?
LIMESTONE: Various types of limestone underlie all of Florida, but in many parts of the state, the limestone is covered by the sand and clay that forms the land surface. Coquina has been used as a building stone in Florida for over 400 years. It is found at land surface along the east coast from St.