From "Springs of Florida," Florida Geological Survey Bulletin No. 66 (CD-ROM), 2004, page 185.

Location. Lat. 29° 59’ 44.78” N., Long. 82° 58’ 36.50” W. (SE ¼ NE ¼ NW ¼ sec. 1, T. 6 S., R. 13 E.). The Ruth Spring is located 4 miles (6.5 km) northwest of Branford within the SRWMD Troy Spring Conservation Area. From the bridge over the Suwannee River in Branford, travel west and northwest for approximately 4.8 miles (7.7 km) on US 27, then turn north (right) on CR 425. Drive 1 mile (1.6 km) and turn east (right) into the Troy Spring Conservation Area. Follow dirt road 1.1 miles (1.8 km), turn north (left) on another dirt road and continue 0.1 mile (0.2 km) to the spring.

Description. Ruth Spring pool measures 75 ft (22.9 m) in diameter north to south and 51 ft (15.5 m) east to west. The vent is located beneath a limestone ledge on the west side of the pool, where the depth measured 5.9 ft (1.8 m). There is a wooden erosion control wall built along the west side of the depression approximately 3 ft (0.9 m) higher than the spring water level at the time of the visit. The bottom of the spring pool is mainly exposed sand. Limestone crops out around the pool edge. The water is clear, with a slight greenish hue and a small boil present on the pool surface near the vent. There is very little aquatic vegetation and algae. The shallow, sand-bottomed spring run travels eastward approximately 550 ft (167.6 m) and flows into the Suwannee River. On the south and west sides of the spring, the land rises steeply to approximately 20 ft (6.1 m) above the lowlands that contain the spring and its run. All lowlands and adjacent uplands are forested. There is a dirt access road and small parking area near the west side of the spring. Ruth Spring also is locally known as Sulfur Spring. Local swimmers reported that the spring often has a slight hydrogen sulfide odor, but this was not the case in March 2002.

Utilization. The spring is undeveloped, open to the public, and is a popular local swimming area.

Discharge. All discharge rates are measured in ft3/s.

November 14, 1973 11.5(1)

June 24, 1997 14.35(4)

October 13, 2007: 2.08 cubic feet per second

National Association for Cave Diving, PO Box 14492, Gainesville, FL 32604, Telephone and Fax: 386-497-3011