Devil's Den, Archaeological site in Williston, Florida, US
Devil's Den is an archaeological site in Williston, Florida, built around a deep water pool inside a cave formation. The pool reaches about 16 meters (54 feet) down, and the water temperature stays at 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the year.
Paleontologists made at least 96 dives into Devil's Den in 1960, the only extensive scientific study of the site. In chamber 3, 70 feet underwater, they found remains of Pleistocene animals such as mastodons, ground sloths, dire wolves and saber-toothed cats alongside human bones and artifacts. A later rare-earth-element analysis concluded that the human and animal bones were about 13,000 years old, from the terminal Pleistocene.
Early settlers saw water vapour rising from the cave's surface on cold mornings and took the plume for a chimney from Hell, which gave the site its name. The underground river stays at a constant 22 °C (72 °F), so the vapour appears whenever the air is colder than the water.
Visitors can go into the water with masks, snorkels, and fins, and equipment can be rented on site. Tent areas and cabins are available for those who want to stay overnight nearby.
The cave is what geologists call a karst window, where limestone bedrock has dissolved and exposed an underground river. Such formations are rare to see in Florida and offer direct access to hidden water systems.
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