Boca Ciega Bay is a body of water connected to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

on the west-central coast of

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 ...

. It is bordered by Gulfport,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and other municipalities in

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

.Boca Ciega Bay boater's guide
(includes map)

Clam Bayou Clam Bayou is a 170-acre estuary between Gulfport, Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Boca Ciega Bay Boca Ciega Bay is a body of water connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida. It is bordered by Gulfport, St ...

estuary feeds into the bay. Boca Ciega Bay is an aquatic preserve designated in 1968 to halt

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

-and-filling work done in the 1950s. There are

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

islands as well as miles of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s bounded by

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

s. Along with the Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve, Boca Ciega Bay provides sandy beaches, mangrove shoreline and submerged habitats such as

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

bars,

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the orde ...

beds,

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

habitat, and spring-fed

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. The 185-acre

Boca Ciega Millennium Park Boca or BOCA may refer to: Entertainment *''Boca'', a 1994 film starring Rae Dawn Chong * ''Boca'' (2010 film), a 2010 Brazilian film * "Boca" (''The Sopranos'' episode), a 1999 episode of the American television series ''The Sopranos'' *"Boca", a ...

Seminole, Florida Seminole is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,364 at the 2020 census. History The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after the Seminole tribe whose descendant ...

, is a protected natural area and preserve. The park features a 35-foot wooden observation tower with a panoramic view of Boca Ciega Bay. The park is a stop on the

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tallahassee. It manages and regulates the state's fish and wildlife resources, and enforces related laws. Officers ar ...

's "

Great Florida Birding Trail Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (''GFBWT'') is a 2,000 mile (3200 km) long collection of more than 500 locations in the U.S. state of Florida where the state's bird habitats are protected. The trail promotes birdwatching, environmenta ...

." Archaeological digs show that the eastern shore of the bay was inhabited by prehistoric native Americans, in particular during the late Weeden Island and

Safety Harbor Safety Harbor is a city on the west shore of Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It was settled in 1823 and incorporated in 1917. The population was 16,884 at the 2010 census. History The area has been inhabited since the Stone ...

periods, from roughly 800 A.D. to 1700 A.D. Some also believe that the area was visited as early as 1528 by the Spanish explorer

Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagüey ...

.Austin, R. J. (1988). ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING AT THE ANDERS SITE: A WEEDEN ISLAND-RELATED MIDDEN ON BOCA CIEGA BAY, ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA. Florida Scientist, 51(3/4), 172–181. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24319907, pg. 173

References

Bays of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Bodies of water of Pinellas County, Florida Protected areas of Pinellas County, Florida {{PinellasCountyFL-geo-stub

See also

References