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Buffalo National River
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The Buffalo was designated a national river in 1972 to ensure it would be kept a free-flowing waterway. It maintains much the character of a wilderness experience with floaters and canoers negotiating the river often surrounded by high limestone bluffs. The park is of course centered on a submerged resource, the river, but the underwater archeological values are most tied to the limestone geology of the area. Rivers with limestone bottoms often catch up artifacts that can be used to help characterize the distribution of early cultures along banks that are often covered with vegetation. Then there is the cultural resource potential of caves, including submerged ones. |
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| In October 1974 Dan Lenihan and Larry Murphy (the latter then working for the State of Florida) conducted a one-day underwater reconnaissance of several points on the river. They were escorted by rangers Francis Kocis and Chuck Brooks and archeologist Bill Spencer. The area the park wanted examined was in proximity to Indian Rock Shelter. There is a submerged spring in which local rumor indicated there was a divable cave that had been penetrated by Navy divers to a point they could surface in air. Lenihan and Murphy examined the cave and found this rumor to be false. The cave is very tight underwater and ends in a dangerous, silty room after a very short penetration. |
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The submerged portions of the cave were deemed to have limited archeological and no recreational value. The river itself was identified as a park resource meriting complete underwater archeological survey when funding and personnel resources become available. A heavy sediment cover makes casual location of artifacts unlikely but systematic archeological survey would probably be very productive.
- October 1974 - Lenihan & Murphy conduct underwater reconnaissance of Indian Rock Shelter and the Buffalo Point area of the river.
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Related Links
Buffalo National River
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