My Visited to Silver River State Park

For one of my labs I had to visit the Silver River State Park, it was quite an enjoyable time and here is a mini interview I had with myself for part of my lab.

1. What park did you visit?

My dad and I were able to visit Silver River State Park.

2. What recreation activities are found at that park?

There is biking, full/primitive camping, cabin rentals, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, interpretive exhibit, and trail riding.

3. How large is the park?

It is a 5,000 acre wooded park that includes the Silver River.

4. Is the park near or contain surface water? If so, what type of system?

Is has the Silver River that literally runs right through the park and also the Ocklawaha River.

5. List the major natural communities found within the park.

There are 10 distinct natural communities found in the park. They are swimming birds, long-legged waders, smaller waders, fowl like birds, birds of prey, land birds, perching birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.

6. What are the identifying characteristics of each of the ecosystems?

The Silver River State Park has seven different communities: scrub, flatwood, sandhill, xeric hammock, mesic hammock, river swamp forest, and river (aquatic).

Hammocks: In North Florida, hammocks that are a mix of mostly evergreen and deciduous trees contain more

tree and shrub species in a given area than any other community in the continental United States. At the Silver River State Park, the hammock is between the sandhill and the river swamp.

Sandhill: The sandy, well-drained soils of the sandhill community provide the perfect habitat for a number

of plants and animals.

Swamp Forest: The river swamp is the type of wetland found along the floodplain of the Silver River. The ground in the river swamp is moist. During parts of the year the area is covered with standing water.

River and Spring: The Silver River is fed from one major spring and ten to twelve minor ones. Together these springs gush approximately 530 million gallons of groundwater into the river daily. The combined flow of all the springs is greater than any other group of springs in the world. The Silver River and springs form a community that is rich in shelter and nutrients. Plants and animals that live in this habitat are well equipped to deal with their watery surrounhttp://www.marion.k12.fl.us/district/srm/docs/EcologicalCommunitiesofSilverRiverStatePark.pdfdings. The Silver River is connected to a number of other river communities.

(Information used in question 6 can be found in an  article called: Ecological Communities of the Silver River State Park found at http://www.marion.k12.fl.us/district/srm/docs/EcologicalCommunitiesofSilverRiverStatePark.pdf )

7. What animals did you see on your visit?

On my visit I was personally able to see a few different species: mourning dove, blue jay, grey squirrel and a fox squirrel.

8. What is the cost to visit the park?

$6.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.

$4.00 Single Occupant Vehicle.

$2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.

$2.00 per person. Entrance to the Silver River Museum and Environmental Center, which is open weekends and major holidays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Children under six are free.

9. What did you learn while you were at the park?

I learned a couple things about the history of the park itself. I learned that the whole area of the park was home to Paleo-Indians about 12,000 years ago. There was a group called Timucua that lived there, and it wasn’t until the the 1700s that more Indians joined with the Timucua. Then in the 1800s the springs became a tourist attraction and then after the in the late 1800s Phillip Morrell was able to conduct the bottom glass tours which is still very popular today.

10. How long did you spend at the park?

We spent about 2 hours in the park after we helped out with the Tree project in the state park.

11. Would you visit this park again? Explain.

I am definitely revisiting the Silver River State Park again with my family, since now we know that there are so many different activities that we can be part of we want to come back and enjoying some hiking and canoeing in these next coming months.

12. Describe the highlight of your visit.

The highlight of my visit was being able to go through and take the river trailheads and get to the river. It was a beautiful warm sunny day in Ocala and it was just great for me being able to enjoy looking at the Silver River itself.