Keep these fun facts and tips handy for your next trip to Florida's Springs:

• The Ichetucknee Silt Snail lives in Florida’s Coffee Springs and nowhere else in the world.
• The Creek Indian word for “bubbling water” or “spring of water” is wekiwa. One of Florida’s many state parks is named after this Creek Indian word, Wekiwa Springs State Park.
• Florida’s Ginnie Springs is one of the most popular freshwater dive sites in the world.
• Each winter, the towns of Crystal River and Homosassa are a popular destination for snorkelers who want to get up close and personal with the hundreds of manatees who seek refuge in nearby springs.
• Scientists classify aquatic cave life into three separate categories: troglobites, troglophiles, and trogloxenes. Troglobites cannot live on the surface and rely on consistent water temperature and quality to survive. Animals that reside both in and out of caves, such as the Bull Catfish, are called Troglophiles.  Trogloxenes are cave visitors which must return to the surface to feed and breed.
• Florida’s Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park is one of the largest, deepest first-order freshwater springs in the world.  Scenes for several popular movies were filmed there, including The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Tarzan’s Secret Treasure.
• The bones of animals such as mastodons, giant sloths and giant armadillos can be found at the bottom of Wakulla Springs.
• Weeki Wachee Springs is one of Florida’s oldest roadside attractions and its mermaids have delighted visitors for almost 60 years.

Resources for this article have been provided by United States Geological Survey, Florida's Springs and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.