Aquarena Springs

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Aquarena Springs was a resort and amusement park built around the San Marcos Springs in San Marcos, Texas, United States, which various owners operated from 1928 until 1996.

[edit] History

The old Aquarena Springs hotel sitting above Spring Lake is now a learning center

The San Marcos Springs are the headwaters of the San Marcos River. This site, where more than 200 springs bubble up from the Edwards Aquifer and discharge an average of 225 million gallons of water daily, is one of the oldest continuously habitated places in North America. Artifacts discovered in digs conducted from 1979 to 1982 date back 12,000 years.

The old observation deck

The first Europeans to visit the springs were probably Spanish explorers in 1689. The springs were an important stop on the Old San Antonio Road and the Chisholm Trail. In 1849, Edward G. Burleson built a dam just below the springs, which created Spring Lake. A.B. Rogers purchased the property in 1926 and his son, Paul, developed a hotel there in 1928 and introduced glass bottom boats on the lake.

In the 1950s, construction of a submarine theater and large spillway at one end of the lake to produce a swimming pool led to the opening of an amusement park at the site in 1951. Other features of the park were a Swiss Sky Ride (a Von Roll skyride), an observation deck that moved vertically 220 ft above the lake and rotated 360º, and "mermaid" performers in the submarine theater. By far, the most popular attraction was "Ralph, the Famous Swimming Pig." Ralph swam around Aquarena Springs performing tricks and dives until the early 1990s, when he retired. At its peak, Aquarena Springs attracted 250,000 visitors annually.

The Wetlands Boardwalk surrounds a shallow water habitat on Spring Lake

In 1994, Aquarena Springs was purchased by Texas State University. Aquarena Springs was operated as an amusement park until 1996, when the park was closed and converted by the university to an environmental learning center now known as Aquarena Center. The center still offers glass bottom boat tours plus environmental education tours, an endangered species exhibit and natural aquarium and scientific diving training.

The center added a Wetlands Boardwalk in a shallow area of Spring Lake. The boardwalk, made of recycled plastic lumber, floats on the water and circles a marshy area that showcases the flora and fauna of a wetland ecosystem.

Aquarena Center has been designated as a "critical habitat," subject to the Endangered Species Act, because the springs are home to the fountain darter, the Texas Blind Salamander, the San Marcos Salamander, the San Marcos gambusia, and Texas Wild Rice. It is feared the San Marcos gambusia may be extinct as none have been seen since 1983.