The Wekiva River (sometimes spelled Wekiwa, a Creek word meaning "spring of water") 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 ...

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

, north of

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 re ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It originates in

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

and joins the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida 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 eleva ...

, the longest river in the state, in DeBary. The Wekiva River system includes the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

joined by three main

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

- Rock Springs Run, Blackwater Creek, and the Little Wekiva River - and about 30 contributing groundwater springs."Wekiva River"
St. Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2013-04-02. It is designated as a

Florida State Canoe Trail 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 th ...

, an Outstanding Florida Water, and an

Aquatic Preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

by the

Florida Department of Environmental Protection The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government agency responsible for environmental protection. History By the mid-1960s, when the federal government was becoming increasingly involved in initiatives desig ...

. The Wekiva River system is also one of the two rivers in Florida federally designated as a

National Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

for its scenery, recreation, geology, and diverse habitats."The Wekiva Wild & Scenic River"
National Park Service. Retrieved on 2012-04-01. Wekiwa is the Creek-Seminole word for a spring, but contrary to popular belief that Wekiva means "flowing water", it was actually an alternate spelling used by developers. The pronunciation of a soft-w, sometimes perceived as a v or b, resulted in cartographers mislabeling maps in later years. The maps drawn in 1838 and 1849 were spelled Wekiwa.The Wekiwas and Wekivas of Orange County, Garner, Mary Kerns. 1983 December. Research sponsored by The Apopka Historical Society.

Overview

The Wekiva River system is located in three counties -

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

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 ...

, and then

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 ...

- with a total

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of ."02235000 (Wekiva River)"
St. Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2013-04-01. The Wekiva River nearly follows the boundary between Orange and Seminole Counties. After Orange County, the river separates Lake County and Seminole County.

Origin

According to 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 ...

and the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, the Wekiva River originates from Wekiwa Springs, and about from the spring, Wekiva is joined by the Rock Springs Run."Feature Detail Report for: Wekiva River"
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Retrieved on 2013-04-16. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection defines the portion of the river from Wekiwa Springs to the confluence with Rock Springs Run as the Wekiwa Springs Run. The Wekiva River then starts from the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the two spring runs and joins the St. Johns River after ."Description of Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve"
Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved on 2013-04-03. Other contributing springs are

Sanlando Springs Sanlando Springs is a second magnitude freshwater spring and an unincorporated community in Seminole County, Florida, United States, just west of Longwood, Florida. Originally named Hoosier Springs by early settler Ingram Fletcher, the springs we ...

and Palm Springs.

Course

Wekiwa Springs

The headwater of the Wekiva River is the Wekiwa Springs, a second-magnitude

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

located within the

Wekiwa Springs State Park Wekiwa Springs State Park is a Florida State Park in Apopka, Florida. It is located 20 minutes north of Orlando, off Interstate 4 at exit 94, near Altamonte Springs and Longwood. The park also contains the head water of the Wekiva River. It al ...

in Apopka. The spring has a mean discharge of or per day emanating from two vents, the largest of which is located under the water. A

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

located about from the springs forms a -wide pool for swimming. At from the weir, the river widens into a

trapezoidal A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eucli ...

pool about at its widest. The clear, bluish-green water narrows into a -wide run as it flows northeastward.

Rock Springs Run

After only about from the headwater, the Wekiva River is joined by Rock Springs Run, a spring-fed

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

that originates from Rock Springs, a second-magnitude spring located about northwest of Wekiwa Springs. Rock Springs is situated inside Kelly Park, an Orange County park in Apopka. After leaving the county park, the stream enters the Wekiwa Springs State Park, meandering for a total length of before joining Wekiva River. After the confluence, the area left of the Wekiva River is protected by

Rock Springs Run State Reserve Rock Springs Run State Reserve is a Florida State Parks, State Park in the U.S. state of Florida. The main entrance is located about north of Orlando in Sorrento, Florida, Sorrento, west of the Wekiva River bridge on State Road 46 (Florida), S ...

, another

Florida state park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

Bridge to nowhere

bridge to nowhere A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are fi ...

spans the river before the Wekiva Island marina about from the confluence with Rock Springs, the first of the two bridges that spans the river. The bridge is located at the end of Miami Springs Drive in Seminole County.

Sweetwater Creek

The Wekiva is joined by Seminole County's Sweetwater Creek about from the headwater. The -long stream is merged by the outflow of Miami Springs, a third- magnitude spring, about before the confluence with Wekiva River.

Wekiva River Buffer Conservation Area

Beyond the creek, the eastern side of the river is protected by the Wekiva River Buffer Conservation Area, a protected seasonal

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s of lush

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

forest of

hardwoods Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s, and sabal palms along the Wekiva and Little Wekiva Rivers. Protecting the natural condition of the area helps preserve the water quality of both rivers.

Little Wekiva River

The Little Wekiva River merges with the Wekiva River about from the source. The -long Little Wekiva River is the only tributary influenced by the areas north and west of urban

. The

has worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

, the city of

Altamonte Springs Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metr ...

, Seminole and Orange counties, environmental interest groups and basin residents to find solutions in rehabilitating and protecting the Little Wekiva to minimize its negative impact in the water quality of the Wekiva River."Little Wekiva River"
St. Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2013-04-16. In Longwood before the Little Wekiva enters the Wekiva River Buffer Conservation Area, several second- and third-magnitude springs, including the

, replenish the Little Wekiva with fresh underground water."Seminole County Springs"
St. Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2013-04-16.

State Road 46

The Florida State Road 46, State Road 46 is the only active road that spans the river with the bridge about from the Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Black Water Creek

The last main tributary of the Wekiva River is the Blackwater Creek, which joins the Wekiva about before the Wekiva joins the St. Johns River.

References

External links

Map of Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve

a
PaddleFlorida.net
{{authority control Rivers of Florida Rivers of Lake County, Florida Rivers of Orange County, Florida Rivers of Seminole County, Florida Outstanding Florida Waters Tributaries of the St. Johns River Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States