The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in elevation from headwaters to mouth is less than ; like most Florida waterways, the St. Johns has a very slow flow speed of , and is often described as "lazy".Whitney, p. 215. Numerous lakes are formed by the river or flow into it, but as a river its widest point is nearly across. The narrowest point is in the headwaters, an unnavigable marsh in

Indian River County Indian River County ( es, Condado de Río Indio, link=) is a county located in the Treasure Coast region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 159,788. Its seat is Vero Beach. It is Florida's 7th richest county ...

. The St. Johns drainage basin of includes some of Florida's major wetlands.The St. Johns River: Nominated as an American Heritage River
, Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved on July 17, 2009. It is separated into three major basins and two associated watersheds for Lake George and the

Ocklawaha River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is derived ...

, all managed 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 east ...

. Although Florida was the location of the first permanent European settlement in what would become the United States, much of Florida remained an undeveloped frontier into the 20th century. With the growth of population, the St. Johns, like many Florida rivers, was altered to make way for agricultural and residential centers, suffering severe pollution and redirection that has diminished its

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. The St. Johns, named one of 14

American Heritage River American Heritage Rivers were designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the 1990s to receive special attention (coordinating efforts of multiple governmental entities) to further three objectives: natural resource and envir ...

s in 1998, was number 6 on a list of America's Ten Most Endangered Rivers in 2008.Ball, David (April 14, 2008
St. Johns River Makes 'Endangered' List
''Jacksonville Financial and Daily Record'', Retrieved on July 17, 2009. Restoration efforts are underway for the basins around the St. Johns as Florida's population continues to increase. Historically, a variety of people have lived on or near the St. Johns, including Paleo-indians, Archaic people,

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their t ...

, French, Spanish, and British colonists,

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

s, slaves and freemen,

Florida cracker Florida crackers were colonial-era British and American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among white Southerners. The first cracker ...

s, land developers, tourists and retirees. It has been the subject of

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...

's journals,

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's letters home, and

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953)
accessed December 8, 2014. was an

' books. In the year 2000, 3.5 million people lived within the various watersheds that feed into the St. Johns River.

Geography and ecology

Starting in Brevard County and meeting the Atlantic Ocean at Duval County, the St. Johns is Florida's primary commercial and recreational waterway. It flows north from its headwaters, originating in the direction of the Lake Wales Ridge, which is only slightly elevated at above sea level. Because of this low elevation drop, the river has a long

backwater Backwater or Backwaters may refer to: Music * ''Backwaters'' (album), a 1982 album by American guitarist Tony Rice * Backwater (band), a jazz fusion band from Mobile, Alabama, or this band's 1976 debut album * "Backwater", a song by Brian Eno fro ...

. It ebbs and flows with tides that pass through the barrier islands and up the channel. Uniquely, it shares the same regional terrain as the parallel

Kissimmee River The Kissimmee River is a river in south-central Florida, United States that forms the north part of the Everglades wetlands area. The river begins at East Lake Tohopekaliga south of Orlando, flowing south through Lake Kissimmee into the large, sh ...

, although the Kissimmee flows south.

Upper basin

The St. Johns River is separated into three basins and two associated watersheds managed by the

. Because the river flows in a northerly direction, the upper basin is located in the headwaters of the river at its southernmost point."Fact Sheet: A Story of the St. Johns River: The Big Picture"
St. Johns River Water Management District (May 3, 2007).The St. Johns is frequently cited as being a rare north-flowing river in North America (Benke & Chusing, p. 100; Randazzo, p. 12), though most rivers in Canada and in parts of the United States drain north (Verdin, K. L. (March 19, 2010)

, ESRI; Gonzalez, M. A. (2003)
"Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America"
''North Dakota Geological Survey Newsletter'' 30 (1), pp. 1–7; ). Indian River County is where the river begins as a network of marshes, at a point west of

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

aptly named the St. Johns Marsh in central Florida. The St. Johns River is a

blackwater stream A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea. M ...

, meaning that it is fed primarily by swamps and marshes lying beneath it; water seeps through the sandy soil and collects in a slight valley. The upper basin measures approximately ; the St. Johns transforms into a navigable waterway in

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in T ...

. The river touches on the borders of

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

and Orange Counties, and flows through the southeast tip of Seminole County, transitioning into its middle basin a dozen miles (19 km) or so north of Titusville. The upper basin of the St. Johns was significantly lowered in the 1920s with the establishment of the Melbourne Tillman drainage project. This drained the St. Johns' headwaters eastward to the Indian River through canals dug across the Ten-Mile Ridge near Palm Bay. As of 2015, these past diversions are being partially reversed through the first phase of the Canal 1 Rediversion project. The river is at its narrowest and most unpredictable in this basin. Channel flows are not apparent and are usually unmarked. The most efficient way to travel on this part of the river is by

airboat An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. In early aviation history the term ''airboat ...

. Approximately 3,500 lakes lie within the overall St. Johns watershed; all are shallow, with maximum depths between .Benke and Cushing, p. 100. The river flows into many of the lakes, which further confuses navigation. Eight larger lakes and five smaller ones lie in the upper basin; one of the first is named

Lake Hell 'n Blazes Lake Hell 'n Blazes, Hellen Blazes or Helen Blazes, is the source of the St. Johns River, located in Brevard County, Florida, United States, about southwest of Melbourne. The lake is in area, and is at the head of the St. Johns River. The name ...

(sometimes polished to read as Lake Helen or Hellen Blazes), referencing oaths yelled by boatmen and fishermen in the early 19th century, frustrated when trying to navigate through floating islands of macrophytes, or muck and weeds, as the islands changed location with the creeping flow. Lakes

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, Winder, and Poinsett are located further along this stretch of the river. The northernmost points of the upper basin contain the

Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area is located along the St. Johns River east of Orlando in Christmas on Taylor Creek Road, off SR 50. Flora The wildlife management area (WMA) contains 1000 acres of old growth floodplain swamp, twenty to forty a ...

, created in 1977 to assist with filtration of waters flowing into the larger St. Johns. Cypress trees Tosohatchee

Wetlands in the upper and middle basin are fed by rainwater, trapped by the structure of the surrounding land. It is an oxygen- and nutrient-poor environment; what grows usually does so in

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

which is created by centuries of decaying plant material.Whitney, pp. 128–130. Water levels fluctuate with the subtropical wet and dry seasons. Rain in central and north Florida occurs seasonally during summer and winter, but farther south rain in winter is rare. All plants in these basins must tolerate water fluctuation, both flooding and drought. Sweetbay (''

Magnolia virginiana ''Magnolia virginiana'', most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, white bay, or beaver tree), is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae. It was the first magnolia to be ...

''), cypress (''

Taxodium ''Taxodium'' is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''taxus'', meaning " yew", and the Greek ...

''), and swamp tupelo (''

Nyssa biflora ''Nyssa biflora'', commonly referred to as the swamp tupelo, or swamp black-gum is a species of tupelo that lives in wetland habitats. Swamp tupelo grows chiefly in the coastal plains from Delaware, eastern Maryland, and southeastern Virginia, s ...

'') trees often find great success in this region on raised land called

hammocks A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wov ...

. Trees that live in water for long periods usually have buttressed trunks, tangled, braided roots, or protrusions like cypress knees to obtain oxygen when under water, but the majority of plant life is aquatic. Wetland staples include the American white waterlily (''

Nymphaea odorata ''Nymphaea odorata'', also known as the American white waterlily, fragrant water-lily, beaver root, fragrant white water lily, white water lily, sweet-scented white water lily, and sweet-scented water lily, is an aquatic plant belonging to the ge ...

''),

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

s, and Virginia iris (''

Iris virginica ''Iris virginica'', with the common name Virginia blueflag, Virginia iris, great blue flag, or southern blue flag, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the Iridaceae (iris) family, native to central and eastern North America. It was iden ...

''). In the southernmost points of the river, ''

Cladium ''Cladium'' (fen-sedge, sawgrass or twig-sedge) is a genus of large sedges, with a nearly worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated ( ...

'', or sawgrass, grows in vast swaths of wet prairie that at one time extended into the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

. These wetland flora are remarkably successful in filtering pollutants that otherwise find their way into the river.

Middle basin

For the river passes through a basin fed primarily by springs and stormwater runoff. This basin, spreading throughout Orange,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Volusia Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 20 ...

, and Seminole Counties, is home to the greater

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

metropolitan area, where two million people live and major tourist attractions are located. The topography of the middle basin varies between clearly distinguishable banks along the river and broad, shallow lakes. Two of the largest lakes in the middle basin are created by the river:

Lake Harney Lake Harney, named for General William S. Harney, is a lake that straddles the county line between Volusia County and Seminole County, Florida, at the coordinates latitude 28°45’21.404", longitude 81° 03’36.019". It is fed by the Saint Jo ...

and Lake Monroe. The shallow Lake Harney is fed by the long narrow

Puzzle Lake Puzzle Lake is a lake near Geneva in Seminole County, Florida. It forms the border of Volusia and Seminole counties. It is one of the lakes that make up the St. Johns River system. north of the lake is the mouth of the tributary, the Econlockh ...

; immediately north is the

Econlockhatchee River The Econlockhatchee River (Econ River for short) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 21, 2011 north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River. The Ec ...

, which joins to increase the volume of the St. Johns to where navigation becomes easier for larger boats. The river veers west, touching on

Lake Jesup Lake Jesup is the largest lake in Seminole County, Florida, United States and is one of many that make up the St. Johns River. Located along the middle basin of the St. Johns, the lake encompasses an area of approximately , including open water ...

before it empties into Lake Monroe, passing the city of Sanford. It is at this point that the St. Johns' navigable waterway, dredged and maintained by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

with channel markers maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, begins. Lake Monroe, a large lake at with an average depth of , drains a surrounding watershed of .McCarthy, p. 20. Sanford has adapted to the lake by building some of its downtown area on the waterfront; citizens use boat transportation and Sanford's public dock to commute into town. Optimally an deep channel about wide after leaving Lake Monroe, the St. Johns meets its most significant tributary in the middle basin, the spring-fed Wekiva River, discharging approximately a day into the St. Johns. Near this confluence are the towns of

DeBary DeBary is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, on the eastern shore of the St. Johns River near Lake Monroe. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 20,696. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Orm ...

and

Deltona Deltona is a city in central Florida and the most populous city in Volusia County. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Monroe along the St. Johns River in central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 93,692. The c ...

. Forests surrounding the Wekiva River are home to the largest black bear (''

Ursus americanus floridanus 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 ...

'') population in Florida; several troops of Rhesus monkeys ('' Macaca mulatta'') have adapted to live near the river as well. The monkeys' introduction to Florida is unclear; they were reportedly brought either to serve in backdrop scenes of Tarzan movies filmed around the Silver River in the 1930s, or to lend an air of authenticity to "jungle cruises" provided by an enterprising boat operator around the same time. St Johns River

Of most vital importance to marshes are invertebrate animals, the foundation of

food webs A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one ...

. Amphibious invertebrates such as apple snails (''

Pomacea paludosa ''Pomacea paludosa'', common name the Florida applesnail, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. Shell description This species is the largest freshwa ...

''),

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

, and grass shrimp consume plant material, hastening its decomposition and acting as a food source for fish and birds. Insect larvae use water for breeding, feeding upon smaller

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s and

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

s that live in microscopic

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and periphyton formations. Mosquitos, born in water, are in turn the favorite food of 112 species of dragonflies and 44 species of

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

in Florida. These animals are water hardy and adaptable to dry conditions when water levels fluctuate from one season to the next or through drought and flood cycles.Whitney, p. 159. Of vertebrates, numerous species of frog, salamander, snake, turtle, and alligator ('' Alligator mississippiensis'') proliferate in marsh waters. Most of these animals are active at night. Frog choruses are overwhelming; during alligator mating season the grunts of bulls join in. The marshes around the St. Johns River upper basin teem with birds. A recent study counted 60,000 birds in one month, nesting or feeding in the upper basin.The St. Johns River: Nominated as an American Heritage River
, Environmental Protection Agency (Part 2). Retrieved on July 17, 2009. Wading and water birds like the white ibis ('' Eudocimus albus''), wood stork ('' Mycteria americana''), and purple gallinule ('' Porphyrio martinicus'') depend on the water for raising their young: they prey upon small fish and tadpoles in shallow water and puddles in the dry season. In successful seasons, their colonies can number in the thousands, creating a cacophony of calls and fertilizing trees with their droppings. File:Ibis Tree.jpg, alt=A tree with no leaves showing dozens of white birds sitting on its branches, American white ibis ('' Eudocimus albus'') File:Hontoon Dead - Barred Owl.jpg, alt=A tawny bird with a flat face and short, rounded beak sitting on a branch in a tree, Barred owl (''

Strix varia The barred owl (''Strix varia''), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus ''Strix'', which i ...

'') File:Blue Spring SP - Wood Stork.jpg, alt=A white bird with long legs and a black head and beak standing on one leg on a branch with foliage in the background, Wood stork ('' Mycteria americana'') File:Limpkin near Blue Spring State Park.jpg, alt=A tawny wading bird with a long orange and gray beak, walking in water near a sandy shore with water grasses in the background, Limpkin (''

Aramus guarauna The limpkin (''Aramus guarauna''), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the America ...

'') File:American Black Vulture - St Johns River.jpg, alt=Two large black birds with black unfeathered heads with their wings half-spread sitting on a tree branch in a tree with few leaves, American black vulture (''

Coragyps atratus The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Ce ...

'') File:Yellow-crowned Night Heron - St Johns River.jpg, alt=A large gray wading bird with a black, white, and yellow feathered head and a medium-size black and gray beak sitting on a tree branch covered in moss and leaves, Yellow-crowned night heron ('' N. violacea'') File:Red-shouldered Hawk - St Johns River.jpg, alt=A red and tawny colored bird of prey sitting on a solitary stick, Red-shouldered hawk ('' Buteo lineatus'') File:Anhinga crop.jpg, alt=A black bird with short legs, long snake-like neck, and black and white feathered wings that are outstretched, drying itself while sitting on a stick protruding from shallow water surrounded by grass, Anhinga ('' Anhinga anhinga'')

Lake George

The river turns north again as it rolls through a basin spreading across Putnam, Lake, and Marion Counties, and the western part of Volusia County. Slightly north of the Wekiva River is Blue Spring, the largest spring on the St. Johns, producing over a day. Florida springs stay at an even temperature of throughout the year. Because of this, Blue Spring is the winter home for West Indian manatees ('' Trichechus manatus latirostris''), and they are protected within Blue Spring State Park. Manatees are large, slow-moving herbivorous aquatic mammals whose primary threats are human development and collisions with swiftly moving watercraft. Many parts of the St. Johns and its tributaries are no-wake zones to protect manatees from being critically or fatally injured by boat propellers. Human interaction with manatees in Blue Spring State Park is forbidden. Bordering to the north of Blue Spring State Park is

Hontoon Island State Park Hontoon Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Hontoon Island between the St. Johns River and the Hontoon Dead River in Volusia County. It is six miles (10 km) west of DeLand, off SR 44, and can only be reached by boat or pa ...

, accessible only by boat. In 1955 an extremely rare

totem representing an owl was found buried and preserved in the St. Johns muck off of Hontoon Island. The figure may signify that its creators were part of the owl clan. Representing different clans of the Timucua, two more totems—in all, the only totems in North America to have been found outside of the Pacific Northwest—shaped like a pelican and otter were found in 1978 after being snagged by a barge at the bottom of the river. River otters ('' Lutra canadensis'') can be found through the length of the St. Johns and its tributaries, living in burrows or in the roots of trees bordering waterways. They eat crayfish, turtles, and small fish, and are active usually at night, playful but shy of human contact. Lake George Florida

The St. Johns creeps into the southern tip of Lake George, the second largest lake in Florida at , wide and long. The watershed surrounding Lake George expands through , lying within Ocala National Forest and Lake George State Forest, that protect an ecosystem dominated by pine and scrub more than and in size, respectively. Flatwoods forests dominate the Lake George watershed, with slash pines (''

Pinus elliottii ''Pinus elliottii'', commonly known as slash pine,Family, P. P. (1990). Pinus elliottii Engelm. slash pine. ''Silvics of North America: Conifers'', (654), 338. is a conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after ...

''), saw palmetto ('' Serenoa repens''), and over 100 species of groundcover or herbal plants that grow in poor, sandy soil. Flatwoods pine forests stay relatively dry, but can withstand short periods of flooding. Larger land animals such as wild turkeys (''

Meleagris gallopavo The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally de ...

''), sandhill cranes (''

Grus canadensis The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...

''), and the largest population of southern bald eagles (''

Haliaeetus leucocephalus The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

leucocephalus'') in the contiguous U.S, find it easier to live in the flatwoods. Typical mammals that live in these ecosystems, such as raccoons ('' Procyon lotor''), opossums (''

Didelphis virginiana The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United ...

''), bobcats (''

Lynx rufus The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on th ...

''), and white tailed-deer (''

Odocoileus virginianus The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

''), are ones that prefer dry, flat areas with good ground cover and available nesting sites.

Ocklawaha River

The

flows north and joins the St. Johns as the largest tributary, and one of significant historical importance. The Ocklawaha (also printed as Oklawaha) drainage basin expands through Orange, Lake, Marion, and Alachua Counties, comprising a total of . Ocala, Gainesville, and the northern suburbs of the Orlando metropolitan area are included in this basin. There are two headwaters for the Ocklawaha: a chain of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Apopka in Lake County, and the Green Swamp near Haines City in Polk County, drained by the

Palatlakaha River The Palatlakaha River is a river in Lake County, Florida. It forms the principal headwater of the Ocklawaha River, a tributary of St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and i ...

. The Silver River, fed by one of Florida's most productive springs expelling daily, is located about midway along the Ocklawaha. Confederate Captain

John William Pearson John William Pearson (January 19, 1808 – September 30, 1864) was an American businessman and a Confederate Captain during the American Civil War. Pearson was a successful businessman who established a popular health resort in Orange Springs ...

named his militia after the

called the Ocklawaha Rangers in the American Civil War. Prior to the civil war, Pearson ran a successful health resort in Orange Springs. After the civil war Pearson's Orange Springs resort declined in popularity due to the increasing attention to nearby Silver Springs—the source of the Silver River—at the turn of the 20th century, popularizing the Ocklawaha. Georgia-born poet Sidney Lanier called it "the sweetest waterlane in the world" in a travel guide he published in 1876. The river gave

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953)
accessed December 8, 2014. was an

access to the St. Johns from her homestead at Orange Lake. The region served as a major fishing attraction until a decline in water quality occurred in the 1940s, and since then further degradation of the river and its sources have occurred. In particular, Lake Apopka earned the designation of Florida's most polluted lake following a chemical spill in 1980 that dumped DDE in it. It has experienced chronic algal blooms caused by citrus farm fertilizer and wastewater runoff from nearby farms.Lake Apopka
, St. Johns River Water Management District (April 2008). Retrieved on July 19, 2009. The proliferation of largemouth bass ('' Micropterus salmoides''), black crappie (''

Pomoxis nigromaculatus The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

''), and bluegill ('' Lepomis macrochirus'') in central Florida is a major attraction for fishermen from all over the country. The St. Johns is home to 183 species of fish, 55 of which appear in the main stem of the river. One, the southern tessellated darter (''

Etheostoma olmstedi The tessellated darter (''Etheostoma olmstedi'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to Canad ...

'') is found only in the Ocklawaha. Some are marine species that either migrate upriver to spawn or have found spring-fed habitats that are high in salinity, such as a colony of Atlantic stingrays (''

Dasyatis sabina The Atlantic stingray (''Dasyatis sabina'') is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, common along the Atlantic coast of North America from Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, including brackish and freshwater habitats. It may be distinguished fr ...

'') that live in Lake Washington in the upper basin. Ocean worms, snails, and white-fingered mud crabs (''

Rhithropanopeus harrisii ''Rhithropanopeus harrisii'' ( common names include the Zuiderzee crab, dwarf crab, estuarine mud crab, Harris mud crab, white-fingered mud crab, and white-tipped mud crab), is a small omnivorous crab native to Atlantic coasts of the Americas, ...

'') have also been found far upriver where tidal influences are rare. In contrast, American eels (''

Anguilla rostrata The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The American ...

'') live in the St. Johns and Ocklawaha and spawn in the

Sargasso Sea The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its charac ...

in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. After a year living in the ocean, many of them find their way back to the St. Johns to live, then, prompted by the phases of the moon, make the return journey to spawn and die.

Lower basin

From the intersection of the Ocklawaha River, to the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Johns lies within the lower basin, draining a total area of in Putnam, St. Johns, Clay, and Duval Counties. Twelve tributaries empty into the river in the lower basin. The St. Johns River widens considerably on the north end of Lake George; between Lake George and Palatka the river ranges between wide. Between Palatka and Jacksonville, that widens further to between . This portion of the river is the most navigable and shipping is its primary use. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains shipping channels at least deep and wide. North of Jacksonville, the channels are expanded to deep and between wide.Spechler, R.M
Estimated discharge and chemical-constituent loading from the upper Floridan aquifer to the lower St. Johns River, northeastern Florida, 1990–91
U.S. Geological Survey, pp. i–32. St Johns River sunset

The towns and cities along the lower basin of the river are some of the oldest in Florida, and their histories have centered on the river. Both Palatka and Green Cove Springs have been popular tourist destinations in the past. Several smaller locations along the river sprang up around ferry landings, but when rail lines and then

Interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

were constructed closer to the Atlantic Coast, many of the towns experienced significant economic decline, and ferry landings were forgotten. The final of the river's course runs through Jacksonville with a population of more than a million. Much of the economic base of Jacksonville depends on the river: of goods are shipped in and out of Jacksonville annually. Exports include paper, phosphate, fertilizers, and citrus, while major imports include oil, coffee, limestone, cars, and lumber.Bourgerie, Richard
Currents in the St. Johns River, Florida, spring and summer of 1998
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1999), pp. i–57. The Port of Jacksonville produces $1.38 billion in the local economy and supports 10,000 jobs. The U.S. Navy has two bases in the Jacksonville area:

Naval Station Mayport Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...

, at the mouth of the river, serves as the second largest Atlantic Fleet operation and home port in the country. Naval Air Station Jacksonville is one of the service's largest air installations, home to two air wings and over 150 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, and the host for one of only two full-fledged Naval Hospitals remaining in Florida. Using an unofficial nickname of "The River City", Jacksonville has a culture centered on the St. Johns. An annual footrace named the

Gate River Run The Gate River Run (GRR), formerly known as the Jacksonville River Run, is an annual road running event in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, that attracts both competitive and recreational runners. It has functioned as the US National Champi ...

accepts 18,000 participants who travel a course along and over the river twice. The largest kingfishing tournament in the U.S. is held on a St. Johns tributary, where sport fishers concentrate on king mackerel (''

Scomberomorus cavalla The king mackerel (''Scomberomorus cavalla'') or kingfish, is a migratory species of mackerel of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Description Th ...

''), cobia ('' Rachycentron canadum''), dolphin ('' Coryphaena hippurus'') and Wahoo ('' Acanthocybium solandri''). The home stadium for the Jacksonville Jaguars faces the river, as does most of the commercial center of downtown. Seven bridges span the St. Johns at Jacksonville; all of them allow tall ships to pass, although some restrict passing times when train or automobile traffic is heavy. Tides cause seawater to enter the mouth of the St. Johns River and can affect the river's level into the middle basin. As a result, much of the river in Jacksonville is part seawater, making it an

estuarine 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 ...

ecosystem. The animals and plants in these systems can tolerate both fresh and salt water, and the fluctuations in saline content and temperatures associated with tidal surges and heavy rainfall discharge. Marine animals such as dolphins and sharks can be spotted at times in the St. Johns at Jacksonville as can manatees. Fish such as mullet ('' Mullidae''), flounder ('' Paralichthys lethostigma''), shad (''

Alosa sapidissima The American shad (''Alosa sapidissima'') is a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, and as an introduced species on the North Pacific coast. The ...

''), and blue crabs ('' Callinectes sapidus'') migrate from the ocean to freshwater springs upriver to spawn. Although freshwater invertebrates inhabiting and comprising algae and periphyton make the foundation of food webs in the middle and lower basin, zooplankton and

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

take that role in the estuarine habitat.

Mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

gather at the St. Johns estuary in large numbers, feeding on the bottom of the river and ocean floors. The abundance and importance of oysters (''

Crassostrea virginica The eastern oyster (''Crassostrea virginica'')—also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the Wel ...

'') is apparent in the many

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

s left by the Timucua in mounds many feet high. Oysters and other mollusks serve as the primary food source of shorebirds. The large trees that line the river from its source to south of Jacksonville begin to transition into salt marshes east of the city. Mayport is home to approximately 20 shrimping vessels that use the mouth of the St. Johns to access the Atlantic Ocean.

Formation and hydrology

Geologic history

Lying within a coastal plain, the St. Johns River passes through an area that was at one time barrier islands, coastal dunes, and estuary marshes. The Florida Peninsula was created primarily by forces and minerals from the ocean. It lies so low that minor fluctuations in sea levels can have a dramatic effect on its geomorphology. Florida was once part of the supercontinent

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

. Lying underneath the visible rock formations is a

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

of igneous granite and volcanic composition under a sedimentary layer formed during the Paleozoic era 542 to 251 million years ago. During the Cretaceous period (145 to 66 million years ago), the basement and its sedimentary overlay were further covered by calcium carbonate and formations left by the evaporation of water called evaporites. What covers the peninsula is the result of simultaneous processes of deposits of sands, shells, and coral, and erosion from water and weather. As ocean water has retreated and progressed, the peninsula has been covered with sea water at least seven times. Waves compressed sands, calcium carbonate, and shells into limestone; at the ocean's edge, beach ridges were created by this depositional forming. North-south axis rivers, such as the St. Johns, were created by past beach ridges which were often divided by swales. As ocean water retreated, lagoons formed in the swales, which were further eroded by acidic water. Barrier islands, furthermore, formed along the Atlantic Coast, surrounding the lagoon with land and forming a freshwater river. From its origins to approximately the area of Sanford, the St. Johns flows north.Randazzo and Jones, p. 12. It takes a sharp turn west near Sanford for a few miles—which is referred to as the ''St. Johns River offset'', but shortly changes direction to flow north again. Geologists hypothesize that the west-flowing offset may have formed earlier than the north flowing portions, possibly during the late Tertiary or early Pleistocene era 66 to 12 million years ago. Some fracturing and faulting may also be responsible for the offset. Although seismic activity in Florida is mostly insignificant, several minor earthquakes have occurred near the St. Johns River, caused by the trough created by Pangaean rifting.

Springs and aquifers

All of Florida's abundant fresh water is the result of precipitation that returns to the atmosphere in a process called evapotranspiration that involves evaporation and transpiration of moisture from plants. As rains fall, most of the water is directed to lakes, streams, and rivers. However, a significant amount of fresh water is held underground but close to the surface in aquifers. A

surficial aquifer Surficial aquifers are shallow aquifers typically less than thick, but larger surficial aquifers of about have been mapped. They mostly consist of unconsolidated sand enclosed by layers of limestone, sandstone or clay and the water is commonly ...

consisting mostly of clay, shells, and sand is over a confining layer of denser materials. Wells are drilled in the surficial aquifer, which supplies better quality water in areas where the deepest aquifer has a high mineral content. Occasionally the confining layer is fractured to allow breaches of water to percolate down to recharge the layer below. The Floridan Aquifer, underneath the confining layer, underlies the entire state and portions of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina. It is particularly accessible in the northern part of Florida, serving as the fresh water source of metropolitan areas from St. Petersburg north to Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Acidic rainwater erodes the limestone and can form caverns. When the overlay of these caverns is particularly thin—less than — sinkholes can form. Where the limestone or sand/clay overlay dissolves over the aquifer and the pressure of the water pushes out, springs form. The upper and middle basins of the St. Johns River are located in a portion of the peninsula where the aquifer system is thinly confined, meaning springs and sinkholes are abundant. Springs are measured in magnitude of how much water is discharged, which is dependent upon season and rainfall. The greatest discharge is from first magnitude springs that emit at least of water per second. There are four first magnitude springs that feed the St. Johns River: Silver Springs in Marion County, emitting between /second; Silver Glen Spring straddling Marion and Lake Counties, emitting between /second; Alexander Springs in Lake County, emitting between /second; and Blue Spring in Volusia County, emitting between /second.

Rainfall and climate

The St. Johns River lies within a humid subtropical zone. In summer months, the temperature ranges from , and between in the winter, although drops may occur in winter months to below freezing approximately a dozen times. Water temperatures in the river correlate to the air temperatures. The average range of water temperatures is between , rising in the summer months. Where the river widens between Palatka and Jacksonville, wind becomes a significant factor in navigation, and both whitecap waves and calm surface waters are common. Rain occurs more frequently in late summer and early fall. Tropical storms and nor'easters are common occurrences along the Atlantic coast of Florida; the St. Johns River lies between inland, so any storm striking the counties of Indian River north to Duval produces rain that is drained by the St. Johns River.

Tropical Storm Fay The name Fay or Faye has been used for 22 tropical cyclones worldwide: 5 in the Atlantic Ocean; 1 in the Australian region; 1 in the South Pacific Ocean; and 15 in the Western Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic: * Hurricane Faye (1975), a Category& ...

in 2008 deposited of rain in a 5-day period, most of it located near Melbourne. The St. Johns near Geneva in Seminole County rose in four days, setting a record. The river near Sanford rose in 36 hours. Fay caused severe flooding in the middle basin due not only to the deluge but the flat slopes of the river. Typically, however, the St. Johns basin receives between of rain annually, half of it in summer months.Vero Beach, FloridaSanford, Florida
an
Jacksonville, Florida
weatherbase.com. Retrieved on July 15, 2009. The rate of evapotranspiration corresponds to rainfall, ranging between a year, most of it occurring in the summer.Kroening, Sharon (2004)
Streamflow and water-quality characteristics at selected sites of the St. Johns River in central Florida, 1933 to 2002
U.S. Geological Survey, pp. i–102. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.

Flow rates and water quality

The entire river lies within the nearly flat Pamlico terrace, giving it an overall gradient of per mile (km); it is one of the flattest major rivers on the continent. Its proximity to the ocean in the lower basin affects its rise and fall with tides and salinity. Tides regularly affect water levels as far south as Lake George; when combined with extreme winds, the river's tidal effects can extend to Lake Monroe away and have on occasion reached Lake Harney. Tides typically raise the river level about at Jacksonville, decreasing some to at Orange Park where the river widens, and increasing back to at Palatka as it narrows. As a result of tidal effects, discharge measurements in the lower basin are often inaccurate. However, the estimated rate of discharge between the Ocklawaha River and the center of Jacksonville ranges from per second. The nontidal discharge at the mouth at Mayport averages per second, but with tides it exceeds per second, and following heavy rains combined with tides can top per second. Farther upriver, the discharge rate ranges from per second near Lake Poinsett to per second near DeLand. The confluence of numerous springs, the Econlockhatchee River, and the Wekiva River causes the average discharge to increase by per second between Lake Harney and DeLand, representing the greatest annual average increase of streamflow along the St. Johns. As distance between the mouth of the St. Johns and the middle and upper basins increases, the

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

in the river gradually decreases. Marine water measures at 35 parts per thousand (ppt) or more while fresh water measures below 2 ppt. What ranges in between is characterized as brackish water. Near the center of Jacksonville, average measures have been collected at 11.40 ppt. Farther south at the Buckman Bridge, joining the south side of Jacksonville to Orange Park, it decreases to 2.9 ppt and falls again to 0.81 ppt at the Shands Bridge near Green Cove Springs.Water Quality Terms and Definitions
City of Jacksonville website (2003). Retrieved on July 17, 2009. Dissolved oxygen in fresh water is measured to indicate the health of plant and animal life. It enters water through the atmosphere and from aquatic plant photosynthesis, and is affected by water pressure and temperature. Rapid decomposition of organic materials will decrease the amount of dissolved oxygen in the river, as will nutrients added to the water artificially by

wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...

runoff or drainage from fertilized agricultural fields. The U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and the State of Florida recommend no less than 5 mg of oxygen per liter. Several locations on the St. Johns or its tributaries reported at or below these minimums in the 1990s, including the mouth of the Wekiva River, the St. Johns at the town of Christmas, and in the early 2000s at Blue Spring and Blackwater Creek. Sustained low levels of dissolved oxygen may create algal blooms, which may also cause a further decrease in dissolved oxygen. Like all blackwater streams in Florida, the color of most of the St. Johns is black, owing to the tannins in leaf litter and decaying aquatic plants. Spring fed streams, on the other hand, are remarkably clear and visibility is very high, even when the river bottom is dozens of feet below.

Human history

Pre-Columbian people

Humans arrived on the Florida Peninsula about 12,000 years ago when the ocean was about lower than today, and the peninsula was double its current size. These earliest people are called Paleo-Indians. They were primarily hunter–gatherers who followed large game, such as mastodons, horses, camels, and bison. Much of the land was far from water—most fresh water was contained in glaciers and polar ice caps. As a result, Florida was an arid landscape with few trees, dominated by grasslands and scrub vegetation. Timucua owl totem

Around 9,000 years ago, the climate warmed, melting much of the polar ice caps and many glaciers, creating a wetter environment and submerging half the peninsular shelf. As Paleo-Indians now did not have to travel as far to find water, their camps became more permanent, turning into villages. With evidence of a wide variety of tools constructed around this time, archeologists note the transition into Archaic people. The Archaic people made tools from bone, animal teeth, and antlers. They wove fibers from plants such as cabbage palms and saw palmettos. A few burial sites have been excavated—including the

Windover Archaeological Site The Windover Archeological Site is a Middle Archaic ( 6000 to 5000 BC) archaeological site and National Historic Landmark in Brevard County near Titusville, Florida, United States, on the central east coast of the state. Windover is a muck pon ...

in Brevard County near Titusville—that provide evidence of burial rituals. Archaic peoples interred their dead in shallow peat marshes, which preserved much of the human tissue. Further climate change between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago led to the Middle Archaic period; evidence suggests that human habitation near the St. Johns River first occurred during this era. Populations of indigenous people increased significantly at this time, and numerous settlements near the St. Johns have been recorded from this era; the banks of the St. Johns and its arteries are dotted with

s filled with thousands of shells, primarily those of ''

Viviparus georgianus ''Viviparus georgianus'', common name the banded mystery snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae, the river snails. This snail is native to the southeast ...

''—a freshwater snail—and oysters. The advent of regional types of pottery and stone tools made of flint or limestone marked further advancements around 500 BCE. The Archaic people transitioned into settled groups around Florida. From the central part of the state north, along the Atlantic Coast lived people in the

St. Johns culture The St. Johns culture was an archaeological culture in northeastern Florida, USA that lasted from about 500 BCE (the end of the Archaic period) until shortly after European contact in the 17th century. The St. Johns culture was present along the ...

, named for the most significant nearby natural formation. Around 750 CE, the St. Johns culture learned to cultivate corn, adding to their diet of fish, game, and gourds. Archeologists and anthropologists date this agricultural advancement to coincide with a spread of archeological sites, suggesting that a population increase followed. When European explorers arrived in north Florida, they met the

, numbering about 14,000, the largest group of indigenous people in the region.Tebeau, p. 16. The later

people called the river ''Welaka'' or ''Ylacco''. These forms may derive from the

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

''wi-láko'', "big water", a compound usually applied to large rivers that run through lakes; the St. Johns forms and borders numerous lakes. Alternately, the Seminole name may derive from ''walaka'' (from ''wi-alaka'', "water" and "coming"), perhaps a reference to the river's slow discharge and the tidal effects on it. The name is sometimes rendered as "Chain of Lakes" in English.

Colonial era

Though the first European contact in Florida came in 1513 when

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...

arrived near

Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...

, not until 1562 did Europeans settle the north Atlantic coast of the peninsula. Early Spanish explorers named the river ''Rio de Corientes'' (River of Currents). The St. Johns River became the first place colonized in the region and its first battleground: when French explorer Jean Ribault erected a monument south of the river's mouth to make the French presence known, it alarmed the Spanish who had been exploring the southern and western coast of the peninsula for decades.Gannon, pp. 41–46.Tebeau, pp. 29–35. Ribault was detained after he returned to Europe. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière arrived to build Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River; they called the river ''Rivière de Mai'' because they settled it on May 1. An artist named Jacques LeMoyne documented what he saw among the Timucuan people in 1564, portraying them as physically powerful and not lacking for provisions. Fort Caroline did not last long, though relations with the local

and

s were friendly. The colony was unable to support itself; some of the French deserted. Those who remained were killed in 1565 by the Spanish, led by Pedro Menéndez, when they marched north from St. Augustine and captured Fort Caroline. The river was renamed San Mateo by the Spanish in honor of the Apostle Matthew, whose feast was the following day. Capturing Fort Caroline allowed the Spanish to maintain control of the river. The French and Spanish continued to spar over who would control the natural resources and native peoples of the territory. The Timucua, who had initially befriended the French, were not encouraged to make the Spanish allies because of colonial governor

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceani ...

' abhorrence of French Protestantism and his view that the Timucuan beliefs were "Satanic". By 1573, the Timucua were in outright rebellion, testing the governor's patience and forcing Spanish settlers to abandon farms and garrisons in more interior parts of Florida; the Spanish could not persuade the Timucua to keep from attacking them. Over a hundred years later, missionaries had more success, setting up posts along the river. Spanish Franciscan missionaries gave the river its current name based on ''

San Juan del Puerto San Juan del Puerto, Spain is a municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Lat ...

'' (St. John of the Harbor), the mission established at the river's mouth following the demise of the French fort. The name first appeared on a Spanish map created between 1680 and 1700. The Timucua, as other groups of indigenous people in Florida, began to lose cohesion and numbers by the 18th century.In 1717, some of the groups were reorganized by the colonial governor; 248 Timucua were counted. The restructuring also included Yamasee, Mocama, Apalachee, and Guale: in total no more than 1,500 Indians remained in north Florida. Disease and violent conflicts with the Spanish and other tribes continued to decrease their numbers, and by 1763, 100 of the last remaining indigenous people of Florida chose to be relocated to Cuba with the Spanish. (Gannon, p. 94.) A tribe located in modern-day Georgia and Alabama called the Creeks assisted with this; in 1702, they joined with the Yamasee and attacked some of the Timucua, forcing them to seek protection from the Spanish who forced them into slavery. The Creeks began assimilating other people and spread farther south until they were known by 1765 as

s by the British, a term adapted from ''cimarrones'' that meant "runaways" or "wild ones". The Seminoles employed a variety of languages from the peoples the Creeks had assimilated: Hitchiti, Muskogee, as well as Timucua. Between 1716 and 1767, the Seminoles gradually moved into Florida and began to break ties with the Creeks to become a cohesive tribe of their own. The St. Johns provided a natural boundary to separate European colonies on the east bank and indigenous lands west of the river. After Florida came under the Kingdom of Great Britain's jurisdiction in 1763,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

father and son naturalists John and

explored the length of the river while visiting the southeastern United States from 1765 to 1766. They published journals describing their experiences and the plants and animals they observed. They were charged by King George III to find the source of the river they called the Picolata or San Juan, and measured its widths and depths, taking soil samples as they traveled southward.Bartram, John and Harper, Francis (December 1942). "Diary of a Journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida from July 1, 1765, to April 10, 1766", ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', New Series, 33, (1) pp. i-120. William returned to Florida from 1773 to 1777 and wrote another journal about his travels, while he collected plants and befriended the Seminoles who called him "Puc Puggy" (flower hunter). William's visit took him as far south as Blue Spring, where he remarked on the crystal clear views offered by the spring water: "The water is perfectly diaphanous, and here are continually a prodigious number and variety of fish; they appear as plain as though lying on a table before your eyes, although many feet deep in the water." Bartram's journals attracted the attention of such prominent Americans as James Madison and

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

. The success of these journals inspired other naturalists such as André Michaux to further explore the St. Johns, as he did in 1788, sailing from Palatka south to Lake Monroe, and gave names to some of the plants described by the Bartrams' journals. Michaux was followed by William Baldwin between 1811 and 1817. Subsequent explorers, including

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

, have carried William's ''Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida'' with them as a guide. In 1795, Florida was transferred back to Spain which lured Americans with cheap land. A former loyalist to Britain who left South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, a planter and slave trader named Zephaniah Kingsley seized the opportunity and built a plantation named Laurel Grove near what is now Doctors Lake, close to the west bank of the St. Johns River, south of where Orange Park is today. Three years later, Kingsley took a trip to Cuba and purchased a 13-year-old Wolof girl named Anna Madgigine Jai. She became his common-law wife, and managed Laurel Grove while Kingsley traveled and conducted business. The plantation grew citrus and sea island cotton ('' Gossypium barbadense''). In 1814, they moved to a larger plantation on Fort George Island, where they lived for 25 years, and owned several other plantations and homesteads in what is today Jacksonville and another on Drayton Island at the north end of Lake George. Kingsley later married three other freed women in a polygamous relationship;May, Philip S. (January 1945). "Zephaniah Kingsley, Nonconformist", ''The Florida Historical Quarterly'' 23 (3), p. 145–159. Spanish-controlled Florida allowed interracial marriages, and white landowners such as James Erwin, George Clarke, Francisco Sánchez, John Fraser, and Francis Richard Jr.—early settlers along the river—all were married to or in extramarital relationships with African women.

Territorial Florida and statehood

The first years following Florida's annexation to the United States in 1821 were marked with violent conflicts between white settlers and Seminoles, whose bands often included runaway African slaves. The clashes between American and Seminole forces during the establishment of the Florida territory are reflected in the towns and landmarks along the St. Johns named for those who were directly involved. Even before Florida was under U.S. jurisdiction, Major General Andrew Jackson was responsible for removing the Alachua Seminoles west of the

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 ...

, either killing them or forcing them farther south towards Lake County, in 1818. Jackson's efforts became the First Seminole War, and were rewarded by the naming of a cattle crossing across a wide portion of the St. Johns near the Georgia border—previously named Cowford—to Jacksonville. The result of Jackson's offensive was the transfer of Florida to the U.S.Lake Monroe on the St. Johns was named for President James Monroe, who persuaded the U.S. government to finance the First Seminole War. As American settlers trickled in to farms and homesteads in north and central Florida, they came into increased conflict with several Seminole bands for food and sometimes took the Seminoles as slaves. The Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1823 placed Seminoles on a reservation near Lake Okeechobee, but further U.S. policy strongly encouraged them to leave Florida for Indian Territory in what would become Oklahoma. (Tebeau, p. 156.) by 1835, the Seminoles rebelled, inspired and led by Osceola, whose name is one of the most widely used for landmarks and structures in the state. (McCarthy, p. 17.) Lake Jesup's namesake is the American military leader in Florida, Major General Thomas Jesup, who captured Osceola in 1837. Lake Harney was named for Brigadier General

William S. Harney William Selby Harney (August 22, 1800 – May 9, 1889) was a Tennessee-born cavalry officer in the US Army, who became known during the Indian Wars and the Mexican–American War for his brutality and ruthlessness. One of four general officers ...

, who led several raids against Seminoles in west and south Florida. (McCarthy, p. 12.) Following the Seminole Wars, a gradual increase in commerce and population occurred on the St. Johns, made possible by steamship travel.

Steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s heralded a heyday for the river, and before the advent of local railroads, they were the only way to reach interior portions of the state. They also afforded the citizens of Jacksonville a pastime to watch competing races. By the 1860s, weekly trips between Jacksonville,

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

were made to transport tourists, lumber, cotton, and citrus. The soil along the St. Johns was considered especially successful for producing sweeter oranges. Florida's involvement in the U.S. Civil War was limited compared to other Confederate states because it had a fraction of the populations of states that had been developed. Florida provided materials to the Confederacy by way of steamboats on the St. Johns, although the river and the Atlantic coasts were blockaded by the U.S. Navy. One action in Florida's role in the Civil War was the sinking of the , a Union paddle steamer used for patrolling the St. Johns to keep materials from reaching the Confederate Army. In 1864, near Palatka, Confederate forces under the command of Capt. John Jackson Dickison captured, burned, and sank the USS ''Columbine'', making her perhaps the only ship commandeered by the Confederacy. The same year and farther downriver, Confederates again sank a Union boat, the '' Maple Leaf'', which struck a floating keg filled with explosives and settled into the muck near

Julington Creek Julington Creek is a stream in Duval County, Florida, near Jacksonville. Durbin Creek is a tributary. Julington Creek feeds into the St Johns River widening out into Old Bull Bay. Both are navigable by paddlecraft and has a marina on it. Harri ...

, south of Jacksonville. Part of the shipwreck was recovered in 1994, when it was discovered that many Civil War-era artifacts, including

daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

s and wooden matches, had been preserved in the river muck. Although the Spanish had colonized Florida for two centuries, the state remained the last part of the east coast of the United States to be developed and explored. Following the Civil War, the State of Florida was too far in debt to build roads and rail lines to further its progress. Florida Governor

William Bloxham William Dunnington Bloxham (July 9, 1835 – March 15, 1911) was the 13th and 17th Governor of Florida in two non-consecutive terms. Prior to his first term as governor, he served in the Florida House of Representatives. In between his terms a ...

in 1881 appealed directly to a Pennsylvania-based industrialist named Hamilton Disston, initially to build canals to improve steamboat passage through the Caloosahatchee River, and later to drain lands in the central part of the state for agriculture. Disston was furthermore persuaded to purchase of land in central Florida for $1 million, which at the time was reported to be the largest purchase of land in human history. Disston was ultimately unsuccessful in his drainage attempts, but his investment sparked the tourist industry and made possible the efforts of railroad magnates

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...

and Henry Plant to construct rail lines down the east coast of Florida, including a rail link between Sanford and Tampa. Disston was responsible for creating the towns of Kissimmee, St. Cloud, and several others on the west coast of Florida. A '' New York Times'' story reporting on Disston's progress in 1883 stated that before Disston's purchase and the subsequent development, the only places worth seeing in Florida were Jacksonville and St. Augustine, with perhaps an overnight trip on the St. Johns River to Palatka; by 1883 tourist attractions had extended south. More attention was paid to the St. Johns with the increasing population. Florida was portrayed as an exotic wonderland able to cure failing health with its water and citrus, and the region began to be highlighted in travel writings. To relieve his bronchitis, Ralph Waldo Emerson stayed briefly in St. Augustine, calling north Florida "a grotesque region" that was being swarmed by land speculators. Emerson poignantly disliked the public sale of slaves, adding to his overall distaste. Following the Civil War, however, famed author

lived near Jacksonville and traveled up the St. Johns, writing about it with affection: "The entrance of the St. Johns from the ocean is one of the most singular and impressive passages of scenery that we ever passed through: in fine weather the sight is magnificent." Her memoir ''

Palmetto Leaves ''Palmetto Leaves'' is a memoir and travel guide written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about her winters in the town of Mandarin, Florida, published in 1873. Already famous for having written ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), Stowe came to Florida after ...

'', published in 1873 as a series of her letters home, was very influential in luring northern residents to the state. One unforeseen aspect of more people coming to Florida proved to be an overwhelming problem. Water hyacinths, possibly introduced in 1884 by Mrs W. W. Fuller, who owned a winter home near Palatka, grow so densely that they are a serious

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. By the mid-1890s, the purple-flowered hyacinths had grown to reside in of the river and its arteries. The plants prevent the navigation of watercraft, fishing, and sunlight from reaching the depths of the river, affecting both plant and animal life. The government of Florida found the plants to be so vexing that it spent almost $600,000 between 1890 and 1930 in an unsuccessful bid to rid the creeks and rivers of north Florida of them.McCarthy, p. 4.

Land boom

An Englishman named Nelson Fell, persuaded by Disston's advertisements to make his fortunes in Florida, arrived in the 1880s. An engineer by trade, Fell purchased near Lake Tohopekaliga to create a town named Narcoossee, which had a population of more than 200 English immigrants by 1888. A spate of poor luck and tense British-American relations followed, prompting Fell to spend some years investing in infrastructure in Siberia, but he returned in 1909 with ideas of developing wetlands in central Florida. He was further encouraged by the political promises of Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward to drain the Everglades during his 1904 campaign. In 1910 Fell purchased of land for $1.35 an acre and started the Fellsmere Farms Company to drain the St. Johns Marsh in 1911 and send water into the

Indian River Lagoon The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida; one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4,300 ...

, promoting the engineered canals and other structures as wondrously efficient in providing land to build a massive metropolis. Some progress was made initially, including the establishment of the town of Fellsmere in which land was sold for $100 an acre, but sales lagged because of a scandal regarding land sale fraud and faulty draining reports from the Everglades. The company then found itself short of funds due to mismanagement. Torrential rains ruptured the newly constructed levees and dikes and forced the company by 1916 to go into receivership. Fell left Florida for Virginia in 1917.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953)
accessed December 8, 2014. was an

used the St. Johns as a backdrop in her books '' South Moon Under'' and '' The Yearling'', and several short stories. In 1933 she took a boat trip along the St. Johns with a friend. In the upper basin, she remarked on the difficulty of determining direction due to the river's ambiguous flow, and wrote in a chapter titled "Hyacinth Drift" in her memoir '' Cross Creek'' that she had the best luck in watching the way the hyacinths floated. Rawlings wrote, "If I could have, to hold forever, one brief place and time of beauty, I think I might choose the night on that high lonely bank above the St. Johns River."When Rawlings and her friend stopped in Sanford to purchase gasoline, a yacht owner offered to have his crew take her to town to buy it, but he was interrupted when his wife, resplendent in a "pink spectator sports costume", demanded he take her to church instead. As Rawlings left the dock at Sanford, her friend remarked, "The poor b—. I bet he'd give his silk shirt to go down the river with us instead of Pink Petticoats". (Rawlings, p. 366.) Florida in the 20th century experienced a massive migration into the state. Undeveloped land sold well and draining to reclaim wetlands has often gone unchecked, and often encouraged by government. The St. Johns headwaters decreased in size from to one between 1900 and 1972. Much of the land was reclaimed for urban use, but agricultural needs took their toll as fertilizers and runoff from cattle ranching washed into the St. Johns. Without wetlands to filter the pollutants, the chemicals stayed in the river and flushed into the Atlantic Ocean. Boaters destroyed the floating islands of muck and weeds in the upper basin with dynamite, causing the lakes to drain completely. Cross Fla Barge canal SR19W-01

What could have been the most serious human impact on nature in central Florida was the Cross Florida Barge Canal, an attempt to connect the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the state by channeling the Ocklawaha River, first authorized in 1933.Author and University of Florida professor Kevin McCarthy characterized the Cross Florida Barge Canal as "probably the single most dangerous threat to the water resources of the state in the twentieth century". (McCarthy, p. 76.) The canal was intended to be long, wide, and deep. Canal construction was top among the engineering priorities in the state, and by 1964 the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

began construction on the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Flood control was the primary impetus behind its construction, though the broader reasoning and feasibility of the project remained unclear. The Army Corps of Engineers was also constructing hundreds of miles of canals in the Everglades at the same time and by the 1960s was being accused of wasting tax money through its unnecessary construction projects. In 1969 the Environmental Defense Fund filed suit in federal court to stop construction on the canal, citing irreparable harm that would be done to Florida waterways and the Floridan Aquifer, central and north Florida's fresh water source. A separate canal, the

St. Johns-Indian River Barge Canal The St. Johns-Indian River Barge Canal was a planned canal in the state of Florida,

, was planned to link the river with the Intracoastal Waterway;"Need For Canal Is Stressed"
''

Sarasota Herald-Tribune The ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' is a daily newspaper, located in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 1925 as the ''Sarasota Herald''. History The newspaper was owned by The New York Times Company from 1982 to 2012. It was then owned by Halifax Media ...

'', September 21, 1963 the project never broke ground, and was canceled soon after the Cross Florida Barge Canal was suspended."St. Johns-Indian River Canal Kaput"
''Daytona Beach Morning Journal'', October 19, 1973

Restoration

When steamboats were superseded by the railroad, the river lost much of its significance to the state. The influx of immigrants to Florida settled primarily south of Orlando, adversely affecting the natural order of wetlands there. Within the past 50 years, however, urban areas in the northern and central parts of the state have grown considerably. In the upper basin, population increased by 700 percent between 1950 and 2000, and is expected to rise another 1.5 million by 2020. Upper St. Johns River Watershed
. Florida Department of Environmental Protection (2009). Retrieved on July 19, 2009.

Nitrates Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...

and phosphorus used as lawn and crop fertilizers wash into the St. Johns. Broken septic systems and seepage from cattle grazing lands create pollution that also finds its way into the river. Storm water washes from street drains directly to the river and its tributaries: in the 1970s, the Econlockhatchee River received of treated wastewater every day. Wetlands were drained and paved, unable to filter pollutants from the water, made worse by the river's own slow discharge. Algal blooms, fish kills, and deformations and lesions on fish occur regularly in the river from Palatka to Jacksonville. Although most of the pollutants in the river are washed from the southern parts of the river, the Jacksonville area produces approximately 36 percent of them found in the lower basin. The State of Florida implemented a program named Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) in 1987 to assist with river cleanups, particularly with

nonpoint source pollution Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination (or pollution) of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered ...

, or chemicals that enter the river by soaking into the ground, as opposed to direct piped dumping. SWIM assists local jurisdictions with purchasing land for wetlands restoration. The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) is charged by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with restoring the river. The first step in restoration, particularly in the upper basin, is the purchase of public lands bordering the river; ten different reserves and conservation areas have been implemented for such use around the St. Johns headwaters. Around

Lake Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back ...

in the Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes, the SJRWMD has purchased of land that was previously used for muck farming. More than have been purchased along Lake Apopka to restore its wetlands, and the SJRWMD has removed nearly of gizzard shad (''

Dorosoma cepedianum The American gizzard shad (''Dorosoma cepedianum''), also known as the mud shad, is a member of the herring family of fish, and is native to large swaths of fresh and brackish waters of the United States of America. The adult has a deep body, w ...

''), a fish species that stores phosphorus and adds to algae problems. The SJRWMD has also set minimum levels for the lakes and tributaries in the St. Johns watersheds to monitor permitted water withdrawals and declare water shortages when necessary. To assist with river cleanup and the associated funds for improving water quality in the St. Johns, Mayor John Delaney of Jacksonville waged a campaign to get it named as an

, beginning in 1997. The designation by the Environmental Protection Agency is intended to coordinate efforts among federal agencies to improve natural resource and environmental protection, economic revitalization, and historic and cultural preservation. The campaign was controversial as the Republican mayor defended asking for federal government assistance, writing "Other rivers have relied heavily on federal help for massive environmental clean-ups. It's the St. Johns' turn now." Twenty-two towns along the St. Johns and environmental, sporting, recreation, boating, and educational organizations also supported its designation, but several prominent Republican politicians expressed concerns over increased federal regulations and restrictions on private property ownership along the river; the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

passed a resolution asking President Bill Clinton not to include the St. Johns. Despite this, Clinton designated the St. Johns as one of only 14 American Heritage Rivers out of 126 nominated in 1998 for its ecological, historic, economic and cultural significance. The continuing increase of population in Florida has caused urban planners to forecast that the Floridan Aquifer will no longer be able to sustain the people living in north Florida. By 2020, 7 million people are predicted to live in the St. Johns basins, double the number living there in 2008. Proposals to use a day from the St. Johns, and another from the Ocklawaha River, for fresh water are controversial, prompting a private organization named St. Johns Riverkeeper to nominate it to the list of the Ten Most Endangered Rivers by an environmental watchdog group named

American Rivers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. In 2008, it was listed as #6, which was met with approval from Jacksonville's newspaper, '' The Florida Times-Union'', and skepticism from the SJRWMD. The St. Johns River is under consideration as an additional water source to meet growing public water needs. In 2008, the river's Water Management District undertook a Water Supply Impact Study of the proposed water withdrawals and asked the National Research Council to review science aspects of the study as it progressed. This resulted in a series of four reports that assessed the impact of water withdrawal on river level and flow, reviewed potential impacts on wetland ecosystems, and presented overall perspectives on the Water Management District study.
Free National Research Council report PDF The National Research Council found that, overall, the District performed a competent job in relating predicted environmental responses, including their magnitude and general degree of uncertainty, to the proposed range of water withdrawals. However, the report noted that the District's final report should acknowledge such critical issues as include future sea-level rises, population growth, and urban development. Although the District predicted that changes in water management would increase water levels and flows that exceed the proposed surface water withdrawals, these predictions have high uncertainties. The report also noted concerns about the District's conclusion that the water withdrawals will have few deleterious ecological effects. This conclusion was based on the model findings that increased flows from upper basin projects and from changes in land use (increases in impervious areas) largely compensated for the impacts of water withdrawals on water flows and levels. Although the upper basin projects are positive insofar as they will return land to the basin (and water to the river), the same cannot be said about increased urban runoff, the poor quality of which is well known.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Belleville, Bill (2000). ''River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River'', University of Georgia Press. * Benke, Arthur; Cushing, Colbert (eds.) (2005). ''Rivers of North America'', Elsevier/Academic Press. * Cabell, Branch and Hanna, A. J. (1943). ''The St. Johns: A Parade of Diversities'', Farrar & Rinehart, Rivers of America Series. * Gannon, Michael (ed.) (1996). ''A New History of Florida'', University Press of Florida. * McCarthy, Kevin (2004). ''St. Johns River Guidebook'', Pineapple Press. * Miller, James (1998). ''An Environmental History of Northeast Florida'', University Press of Florida. * Noll, Steven and Tegeder, M. David (August 2003)
''From Exploitation to Conservation: A History of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway''
hosted at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website. Retrieved on July 19, 2009. * Randazzo, Anthony and Jones, Douglas (eds.) (1997). ''The Geology of Florida''. University Press of Florida. * Rawlings, Marjorie (1942). ''Cross Creek'', First Touchstone Edition 1996: Simon & Schuster. * Read, William Alexander (2004). ''Florida Place Names of Indian Origin and Seminole Personal Names'', University of Alabama Press. * Schafer, Daniel L. (March 2003). ''Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley: African Princess, Florida Slave, Plantation Slaveowner''. University Press of Florida. * Simpson, J Clarence; Boyd, Mark F. (ed.) (1956). ''A Provisional Gazetteer of Florida Place-names of Indian Derivation''. Florida Geological Survey, Special Publication No. 1. * Stowe, Harriet B. (1873). '' Palmetto-Leaves''. J. R. Osgood and Company. * Tebeau, Charlton (1971). ''A History of Florida'', University of Miami Press. * Whitney, Ellie; Means, D. Bruce; Rudloe, Anne (eds.) (2004) ''Priceless Florida: Natural Ecosystems and Native Species''. Pineapple Press, Inc. * Young, Claiborne (1996). ''Cruising Guide to Eastern Florida'', Pelican Publishing Company.

External links

Florida Department of Environmental Protection
:
Lower basin
:
Middle basin
:
Upper basin

St. Johns River Water Management District

St. Johns Riverkeeper

A History of Central Florida Podcast

Hontoon Owl TotemTravel DiningFishing Boats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns River American Heritage Rivers Rivers of Florida North Florida Bodies of water of Indian River County, Florida Rivers of Brevard County, Florida Rivers of Osceola County, Florida Rivers of Orange County, Florida Rivers of Seminole County, Florida Rivers of Volusia County, Florida Rivers of Polk County, Florida Bodies of water of Putnam County, Florida Bodies of water of Clay County, Florida Inlets of Florida NJCAA athletics

Geography and ecology

Upper basin

Middle basin

Lake George

Ocklawaha River

Lower basin

Formation and hydrology

Geologic history

Springs and aquifers

Rainfall and climate

Flow rates and water quality

Human history

Pre-Columbian people

Colonial era

Territorial Florida and statehood

Land boom

Restoration

See also

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links