The Santa Fe River is a

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

in northern

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 ...

. The watershed of the river is approximately and spreads across southern Columbia, southern Suwannee, western

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, far southern

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, northern and eastern Gilchrist, and northern Alachua counties. The headwaters of the river are

Lake Santa Fe Lake Santa Fe is a lake that is fed by seepage from the Floridan Aquifer in northeastern Alachua County, Florida. The lake is located entirely in Alachua County, but is bounded on the east and South side by Bradford County, Clay County, and P ...

, near

Keystone Heights Keystone Heights is a city located in southwestern Clay County, Florida, United States. The population of the city was 1,446 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the state of Pennsylvania's nickname, the "Keystone State". History ...

. The Santa Fe River is usually a slow-flowing river. This slow speed, combined with the abundant leaf-drop from nearby trees, especially

Bald Cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...

, leads to a very dark-brown river due to dissolved

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

s. The Santa Fe River is typical of many rivers in

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

regions in that it completely disappears underground and then reappears downstream. The river drops into a large sinkhole in

O'Leno State Park O'Leno State Park is a Florida State Park located on the Santa Fe River six miles north of High Springs on U.S. 441. Many facilities at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. History A town called Keno, also the na ...

and reappears in the adjacent

River Rise Preserve State Park River Rise Preserve State Park is a Florida state park, located six miles north of High Springs, off U.S. Route 441 U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US&n ...

. The land over the underground section of the river, referred to as a natural bridge, was used for the main route of the Spanish mission trail and the

Bellamy Road The Bellamy Road was the first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial Florida. Land travel and transportation in Florida prior to its acquisition by the United States was by foot over trails. The Spanish used existing Native American ...

to avoid a water crossing of the Santa Fe River. Springs like Gilchrist Blue, Ginnie, Hornsby, Lily, Poe, and Rum Island springs are located at the banks of the river, mostly downstream of the river's reappearance above ground level. The water temperature near the numerous springs is always around .Canoe Trips
. UF Canoe & Rafting Club. The area is sparsely populated compared to the rest of Florida, there have been sightings of animals like the

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

bobcat 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 the IUC ...

, the rare

Florida panther The Florida panther is a North American cougar (''P. c. couguar'') population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed freshwater swamp forests. It is known under a number of common names including Costa R ...

and due to the near-constant water temperatures along many portions of the river,

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

s. As with many rivers in Florida, plant and animal fossil remnants are plentiful along the Santa Fe. The tributaries of the Santa Fe include the New River, Olustee Creek, and the

Ichetucknee River The Ichetucknee River is a spring-fed, pristine river in North Central Florida. The entire of the river average wide, deep and most of the 6 miles lie within the boundaries of the Ichetucknee Springs State Park while the rest is to the south o ...

, another spring-fed river. The Santa Fe empties into 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 ...

near

Branford, Florida Branford is a town in Suwannee County, Florida, United States. The population was 712 at the 2010 census. Geography Branford is located at (29.961803, –82.927204). The town is located on the banks of the Suwannee River. U.S. Route 27 a ...

. The river derives its name from a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

mission named Santa Fé de Toloca formerly located near the river.

List of crossings

References

External links