Qualla: Rainbow River https://qualla.com/rainbow-river en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Rainbow River https://qualla.com/rainbow-river Rainbow River: Introduction https://qualla.com/rainbow-river/ Photo credit Tupelo the typo fixer, CC BY-SA 4.0. In the 1960s, you could ride a submarine through the Rainbow River. Not a real submarine - a sightseeing boat where passengers sat below the waterline, peering through underwater windows at the crystalline springs flowing beneath them. You could also take a glass-bottomed boat ride, float on a log raft, watch a horse rodeo, ride a leaf-shaped gondola on an overhead monorail, and browse a reptile exhibit. Then Walt Disney World opened seventy miles to the southeast, Interstate 75 replaced US Highway 41 as the main artery through Florida, and the Rainbow Springs attraction closed in 1974. The river, of course, did not care. It kept pumping 400 to 600 million gallons of water per day from dozens of underground vents, just as it had for millennia, at a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit, clear enough to read a newspaper at the bottom.

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Image: Tupelo the typo fixer | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/djjm-rainbow-river-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Rainbow River: Ten Thousand Years of Crystal Water https://qualla.com/rainbow-river/ Photo credit Tupelo the typo fixer, CC BY-SA 4.0. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have been drawn to the Rainbow River for over 10,000 years. The appeal is obvious: an inexhaustible supply of fresh, clean, temperature-stable water in a subtropical landscape. The river was known by several names before its current o...

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]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/djjm-rainbow-river-ten-thousand-years-of-crystal-water.mp3 0:06 2 full Rainbow River: Phosphate, Submarines, and a Leaf-Shaped Monorail https://qualla.com/rainbow-river/ Photo credit Tupelo the typo fixer, CC BY-SA 4.0. The modern history of Rainbow Springs reads like a capsule history of Florida tourism itself. In the late 1880s, the discovery of hard rock phosphate brought a boom to the area, and a small community called Juliette flourished near the springs. By the 1930s, someone had the idea ...

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]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/djjm-rainbow-river-phosphate-submarines-and-a-leaf-shaped-monorail.mp3 0:06 3 full Rainbow River: The River Reclaims Its Park https://qualla.com/rainbow-river/ Photo credit Tupelo the typo fixer, CC BY-SA 4.0. After the attraction closed in 1974, the site was abandoned. Vegetation crept over the sea walls and walkways. The gift shop and lodge fell into disrepair. The leaf-shaped gondolas rusted on their rails. But in 1972, even before the closure, the Rainbow River had been designated ...

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]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/djjm-rainbow-river-the-river-reclaims-its-park.mp3 0:06 4 full Rainbow River: An Underwater Garden https://qualla.com/rainbow-river/ Photo credit Tupelo the typo fixer, CC BY-SA 4.0. The park today encompasses uplands, wetlands, and submerged areas fed by the headspring basin. The river supports 11 distinct natural communities, from sandhills and flatwoods to upland mixed forests and hydric hammocks. Beneath the water's surface, aquatic vegetation sways in th...

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]]> Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/j/j/m/rainbow-river-wp/djjm-rainbow-river-an-underwater-garden.mp3 0:06 5 full