The South Lake Worth Inlet, also known as the Boynton Inlet, is an artificial cut through a

barrier beach Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

connecting the south end of the

Lake Worth Lagoon The Lake Worth Lagoon is a lagoon located in Palm Beach County, Florida. It runs parallel to the coast, and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier beaches, including Palm Beach Island. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by tw ...

Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

with the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The inlet is wide and deep.

Geography

The South Lake Worth Inlet, at coordinates , is bordered on the north by the town of Manalapan and on the south by the town of

Ocean Ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a diverge ...

. Ocean Inlet Park, owned by Palm Beach County, extends from the ocean to the lagoon on the south side of the inlet, and covers . Boynton Inlet

History

In the mid-19th century Lake Worth Lagoon was a fresh water lake with no connection to the ocean. After the

Lake Worth Inlet The Palm Beach Inlet, also known as the Lake Worth Inlet is an artificial cut through a barrier island connecting the northern part of the Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida with the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the town of Palm ...

was cut near the north end of the lagoon in 1866 (with intermittent closures and re-openings until 1886), the lagoon became increasingly

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

. Development around the lagoon polluted it, as well. By 1913 residents of the area were discussing opening another inlet from the south end of the lagoon to help flush polluted waters into the ocean. The State of Florida created a taxing district for the South Lake Worth Inlet in 1915 (the taxing district was abolished in 1996, and Palm Beach County assumed responsibility for maintaining the inlet). Construction of the inlet began in 1925. The new inlet was completed in 1927 at a cost of $225,000, and was wide and deep (below mean low water). As happens generally to inlets on the Florida east coast, the predominantly southward

longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle incoming wave direction ...

caused sand to accumulate against the north jetty of the inlet, and eventually spill over into the inlet and into the Lake Worth Lagoon. The same process also caused erosion of the beach south of the inlet. The height of the inlet jetties was raised, and, in 1937, a sand transfer plant (the first such plant anywhere) was installed on the north jetty to pump sand past the inlet. The transfer plant pumped an average of sand past the inlet in the next five years. The transfer plant was shut down during World War II due to fuel shortages, and sand again accumulated in the inlet and the lagoon. Following World War II, sand transfer was resumed, and dredging of the accumulated shoals in the inlet and the lagoon began. In 1967 the south jetty was extended and a curved extension was added to the north jetty. The sand transfer plant was upgraded in 1948, 1967 and 1998, and rebuilt in 2011.

Navigation

State Road A1A State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road through m ...

crosses the inlet on a fixed-span bridge above the water. The depth of the inlet is between and . The inlet was never intended for navigation, but is used by recreational boaters. The inlet has a reputation of being dangerous due to shoaling, strong currents and close clearances. There were more than 46,000 boat trips through the inlet in 2006. Seven boats required rescue in the inlet that year.

References

{{Coastal Waters of Florida Inlets of Florida Bodies of water of Palm Beach County, Florida