Outstanding Florida Waters are rivers, lakes and other water features designated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under authority of Section 403.061 (27), Florida Statutes as "worthy of special protection because of their natural attributes." Outstanding Florida Waters have special restrictions on any new activities that would lower

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

or otherwise degrade the body of water. The Outstanding Florida Water designation has been applied to all bodies of water in

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

national wildlife refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

national seashore The United States has ten protected areas known as national seashores and three known as national lakeshores, which are public lands operated by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior. National seashores an ...

s, national preserves,

national marine sanctuaries A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a zone within United States waters where the marine environment enjoys special protection. The program began in 1972 in response to public concern about the plight of marine ecosystems. A U.S. National Marine ...

and estuarine research reserves, state parks and recreation areas, state preserves and reserves, state ornamental gardens and botanical sites, environmentally endangered lands programs, conservation and recreation lands programs, Save Our Coast program acquisitions, state aquatic preserves, scenic and wild rivers (both national and state), and certain waters in national forests. The DEP has also designated these 'special' Outstanding Florida Waters: *

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 160 mi (180 km) long in the state of Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its fa ...

* Aucilla River * Blackwater River * Butler Chain of Lakes *

Chassahowitzka River The Chassahowitzka River is a spring-fed river located in southwestern Citrus County, Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 18, 2011 river is home to hund ...

System * Chipola River * Choctawhatchee River * Clermont Chain of lakes * Crooked Lake * Crystal River * Econlockhatchee River System * Estero Bay tributaries *

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

* Hillsborough River *

Homosassa River Homosassa River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 18, 2011 river in Citrus County, Florida, in the western part of the state. Its headwaters are the Homosassa ...

System *

Kingsley Lake Kingsley Lake is an almost perfectly circular lake of about in North East Florida, is located inside Clay County about east of Starke, Florida. According to some sources, it is the oldest and highest lake in Florida, located on the edge of th ...

and Black Creek (North Fork) * Lake Disston *

Lake Powell Lake Powell is an artificial reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It is the second largest artificial reservoir by maximum ...

* Lemon Bay estuarine system * Little Manatee River * Lochloosa Lake *

Myakka River (big water) , image = Myakka River.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Myakka River in El Jobean , image_alt = , map = Myakkarivermap.png , map_size = 200px , map_caption ...

(lower part) * Ochlockonee River * Ocklawaha River * Orange Lake,

River Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

, and Cross Creek * Perdido River *

Rainbow River The Rainbow River is located in Dunnellon, Florida, United States, in the southwest corner of Marion County, about southwest of Ocala, northwest of Orlando and north of the Tampa Bay area. It is formed by a first-magnitude spring (Rainbow Sp ...

* St. Marks River * Santa Fe River system * Sarasota Bay estuarine system *

Shoal River Shoal River is a river located primarily in Okaloosa County, Florida, near the city of Crestview. It is a tributary of the Yellow River, emptying into Pensacola Bay Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United S ...

* Silver River * Spruce Creek *

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset hig ...

Tomoka River The Tomoka River is a north-flowing river in Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County, Florida, United States. It drains an area of about and has a length of .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...

* Wacissa River *

Wakulla River The Wakulla River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 18, 2011 river in Wakulla County, Florida. It carries the outflow from Wakulla Springs, site of the Edward ...

* Weekiwachee riverine system * Wekiva River * Wiggins Pass estuarine system FlaWaterwaysMap

References

Outstanding Florida Waters Fact Sheet
- URL retrieved September 24, 2006

External links

FloridaRivers.org
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Rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

See also

References

External links