Cave system
Eagle's Nest Sink cave
Extreme Exposure (dive centre) gives 310 feet; a 2013 NBC report describes the cave as 300 feet deep. No official surveyed maximum depth was found.
A deep sinkhole cave in Florida's Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area, around 90 metres deep, where FWC requires a scuba registration before every dive and where many divers have died since 1981.
Eagle's Nest is a small pond in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area on Florida's Gulf coast, managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Below the pond lies one of the deepest and most demanding cave dives in Florida, with large upstream and downstream tunnels reached past a central debris cone. Published depth figures are around 300 to 310 feet (about 91 to 94 metres).
The site has a long history of fatal accidents and of access being lost and regained. The Southwest Florida Water Management District banned diving when it bought the land in 1999; the ban was lifted in July 2003 after a management plan was developed. After further deaths, FWC met cave-diving organisations, training agencies, DAN and cave rescue volunteers in February 2017, and the meeting recommended treating Eagle's Nest as an advanced deep cave site. FWC then adopted a rule requiring every scuba diver to complete a free online registration acknowledging the risks.
Today a Chassahowitzka WMA SCUBA Diving Registration must be on file with FWC before diving at Eagles Nest Sink or nearby Buford Spring, and visitors need a WMA daily-use permit or annual permit to enter the area. An FWC warning sign at the pond has described cave diving there as extremely dangerous.
Why it matters
Eagle's Nest is one of Florida's best-known deep cave dives and a case study in how access can be kept open through regulation rather than closure: cave-diving groups, including the NSS Cave Diving Section, NACD and Karst Underwater Research, took part in the 2017 FWC process.
Survey and exploration history
| 1999 | The Southwest Florida Water Management District banned diving after acquiring the land. [5] |
| 2003-07 | The state lifted the diving ban once a management plan for the site was developed. [5] |
| 2017-02 | FWC convened a meeting with cave-diving organisations, training agencies, DAN and the IUCRR on keeping Chassahowitzka WMA dive sites open. [4] |
| 2018-08 | New rules took effect requiring scuba divers to be at least 18 and to register online before every dive, according to press reports. [3] |
Entrances and dive sites
One entrance: the Eagle's Nest pond (Eagles Nest Sink) in the Chassahowitzka WMA. FWC also requires the same registration for Buford Spring in the WMA.
Every fact on this page, with its source (10)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme Exposure describes Eagle's Nest as deep, at 310 feet.310 ft is about 94.5 m. NBC (2013-12-28) calls it the 300-foot deep Eagle Nest Sink cave. No official survey figure found. | Reported | [6] |
| The cave has upstream and downstream tunnels around a central debris cone.Provider description. | Reported | [6] |
| A Chassahowitzka WMA SCUBA Diving Registration is required and must be on file with FWC before scuba diving at Eagles Nest Sink or Buford Spring.Read 2026-10-14. | Verified | [1] |
| A Daily-Use Permit is required to enter the WMA unless the visitor holds a Wildlife Management Area Permit; the Chassahowitzka daily-use fee is $3 per person or $6 per non-commercial vehicle.Read 2026-10-14. | Verified | [1] [2] |
| The Southwest Florida Water Management District banned diving at Eagle Nest Sink in 1999 when it bought the land, and the state lifted the ban in July 2003 when a management plan was developed.Associated Press report, 2013. | Reported | [5] |
| In February 2017 FWC convened a meeting attended by NSS-CDS, Karst Underwater Research, NACD, IUCRR, DAN and training agencies, which recommended that Eagles Nest be considered an advanced deep cave site; the FWC Commission then approved a no-cost electronic registration rule.X-Ray Mag, 2017-12-08. | Reported | [4] |
| Rules reported in August 2018 require divers to be at least 18 years old and to complete an online registration, including safety information and a liability release, before every dive; the rules apply to scuba divers, not swimmers or freedivers.DeeperBlue citing the Tampa Bay Times; FWC's current page confirms registration but does not state the age limit. | Reported | [3] |
| Eagle's Nest has claimed at least 12 scuba divers' lives since 1981, according to a 2018 report citing the Tampa Bay Times.Count as of 2018. | Reported | [3] |
| An FWC warning sign at the pond says cave diving there is extremely dangerous.Sign wording as reported in 2013. | Reported | [5] |
| Chassahowitzka WMA is on the Gulf coast 15 miles south of Crystal River. | Verified | [7] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction