Where is the Wakulla volcano?

Answer 1

The Wakulla volcano is in Wakulla County, Florida.

More accurately, the "volcano" area is likely over the county line actually in Jefferson County, FL. Old accounts from the Civil War to the late 1880's consistently put it "south - southeast from the [old] capitol building" [which sits just in front (east) of today's very tall "new" capitol building]. From that vantage point , line south-southeast would be roughly in the area where Jefferson County borders Wakulla County. During the early 1990's I would eat lunch at the observation deck of the new capitol building and see a column of smoke in that exact direction - but when I enquired about existing forest fires, was told there were no forest fires at that time, which was confusing. On clear days or nights, one could hear "thunder" from that region, which the TV news weatherman explained as "temperature inversion." Another line of sight was from the St. Marks lighthouse, but that direction is not given. What would be ideal would be GPS coordinates, if anyone has them. Lacking that, next best would be triangulation lines from several known spots, to see where they converge on the map.

Using similar methods, and old "contemporary" descriptions from the FSU library, computerized maps, and overlays I was able to locate what appears to be the location of a missing encampment of Spanish explorers (DeSoto or Vaca?) near an Indian village of the 1500's just a few miles north of this location. Traveling to the spot on the present day map yielded an area of many arrow heads, stone implements, and five large stones in the shape of a star, about the size of a DeSoto style military encampment of its day. Talking with old timers in the area, including a man whose direct ancestors had received the farm in a land grant from Spain before the U.S. owned Florida, confirmed ancient stories of the Spanish coming through that area, and their trading and conflicts with Indians, etc. That was a few miles north. But I haven't seen the reported Wakulla "Volcano" or the purported burnt rocks and ground fissures. Some argue it is easier to get to if you start in Wakulla County, on a boat in the Wakulla River. At least one party reported a clear "hot springs" in the general vicinity, but no one seems to know where that is either.

Many assume there are no earth crust faults in the region because there has been no evidence of such in the last hundred years. That's what they thought in Missouri also until they had huge quakes in the early 1800's (much bigger than the San Francisco quake) and are now (since 2008) warned that the New Madrid fault is due another very big one at any time - geologically speaking, of course. Interestingly, there was an earthquake in Quincy, FL in 1952 which is northwest of Tallahassee by about 22 miles. Then in 2006 there were two earthquakes in the Gulf of Mexico, some 260 miles southwest of Tampa, off the coast of Naples. Those earthquakes were 7 months apart, and 5.2 and 6.0 magnitude respectively. If you draw a line (not that faults are straight lines) on a map from Quincy FL to the spot southwest of Tampa where the 2006 quakes hit, it crosses not far from the region of the fabled Wakulla Vocano. If you draw a line from Quincy, FL to the hot springs area of Venice, FL (south of Tampa), it too passes not far from St. Marks and the reported hot spring (if it exists) near the so-called Wakulla volcano. Each of the recent earthquakes were in areas that "are unusual" for earthquake activity. Perhaps there is a thinning of the earth's crust along that line that allows for present day hot springs and/or the occasional open fissure in the past ages.