Rice Creek is a stream in
Putnam County, Florida in
Florida, a tributary of the
St. Johns River. It arises in the Rice Creek Swamp (also known as Nine Mile Swamp) west of
Palatka in Putnam County, flowing north until it passes under
Florida State Road 100, and then eastward, passing under
U.S. Route 17 in Florida
U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs from the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area.
As is the case with all Florida roa ...
before reaching the St. Johns River. Much of Rice Creek Swamp is included in the Rice Creek Conservation Area established by the
St. Johns River Water Management District
The St. Johns River Water Management District ("SJRWMD") is one of five Florida water management districts that is responsible for managing groundwater and surface water resources in Florida. SJRWMD covers an 18-county region in northeast and eas ...
. The major tributary of Rice Creek is
Etonia Creek, which has a much larger watershed than does the remainder of Rice Creek. Etonia Creek joins Rice Creek about above Rice Creek's mouth on the St. Johns River. Rice Creek, excluding the area drained by Etonia Creek, has a watershed of . Little Rice Creek is a tributary of Rice Creek which also arises in Rice Creek Swamp. The creek flows primarily through wetlands and forests.
Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and r ...
operates a
pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ful ...
adjacent to the creek. The ''State of the River Report'' found Rice Creek's water quality measures for the 2016–2020 period to be within acceptable levels.
References
External links
Video tour of Rice Creek Conservation Area
Tributaries of the St. Johns River
Rivers of Florida
North Florida
Bodies of water of Putnam County, Florida
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