Crooked River is a waterway in

Franklin County, Florida Franklin County is a county along the Gulf of Mexico in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,451, making it the third-least populous county in Florida. The county seat is Apalachicola. The ...

, that connects the

tidal estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

Ochlockonee River The Ochlockonee River ( ) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida. Background The name is from the Hitchiti language words ...

to a junction with the tidal

Carrabelle River Carrabelle River is located in Carrabelle, Florida, and flows into St. George Sound in Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely ...

and the New River above the town of

Carrabelle, Florida Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. The population was 2,778 as of the 2010 census. Carrabelle is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. Geography C ...

. The Crooked River channel is long, while its ends are apart. The Crooked River is sometimes described as a principal tributary of the Ochlockonee River, while G.H. Dury described the Crooked River as a

tidal channel A tidal creek or tidal channel is a narrow inlet or estuary that is affected by the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Thus, it has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal cree ...

connecting the Carrabelle River with the Ochlockonee River, separating

St. James Island St. James Island is an inhabited area along the Florida Panhandle surrounded by the Carrabelle River, Crooked River, Ochlockonee River, and St. George Sound in Franklin County, Florida. It is more than long and averages wide. It is separated f ...

from the mainland.

Conservation

Florida approved the purchase of 13,000 acres of

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

along the Crooked River from

St. Joe Company The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate d ...

in 2003 for $14.5 million. The preserve was meant to help protect

Florida black bear The Florida black bear (''Ursus americanus floridanus'') is a subspecies of the American black bear that has historically ranged throughout most of Florida and the southern portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The large black-furred be ...

territory. The purchased land was added to Tate’s Hell State Forest.Florida's northwestern coast awash in unique sights
January 17, 2010 Michigan Live

References

Rivers of Franklin County, Florida Rivers of Florida Tributaries of the Ochlockonee River {{FranklinCountyFL-geo-stub