Derrickson-Vaughn/Bee Tree Sink (River Rise Cave)

In 1998, I joined Jerry Murphy and Al Heck for exploration in this obscure system, what would later become a part of the huge cave between the sink and rise of the Santa Fe River. We were pushing the limits of our equipment, as we didn't have the money to buy enough scooters, and we were pre-rebreather at the time. Despite all this, we managed to survey 8400 feet of passage between August and December. A writeup was made in Underwater Speleology, the magazine of the NSS-CDS, but no map was published at the time.

This map, published many years later shows the much larger exploration team, and all of the additional exploration.

This map, published many years later shows the much larger exploration team, and all of the additional exploration.