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List of rivers of Florida

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This is a list of streams and rivers in the U.S. state of Florida. With one exception, the streams and rivers of Florida all originate on the Coastal plain. That exception is the Apalachicola River, which is formed by the merger of the Chattahoochee River, which originates in the Appalachian Mountains, and the Flint River, which originates in the Piedmont. Most streams and rivers in Florida start from swamps, while some originate from springs or lakes. Many of the streams and rivers are underground for part of their courses. The Everglades, sometimes called the "river of grass", is a very wide and shallow river that originates from Lake Okeechobee. Most of Florida's streams and rivers drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Drainage on the east coast of Florida is dominated by the St. Johns River, which, with the swamps that form its headwaters, extends parallel to the coast from inland of Fort Pierce to Jacksonville.[1]

By drainage basin

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Atlantic coast

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St. Johns River in Blue Spring State Park.
Ocklawaha River
Halifax River
St. Lucie River

Rivers are listed as they enter the ocean from north to south. Tributaries are listed as they enter their main stem from downstream to upstream.

Alachua Sink

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Water enters Paynes Prairie Basin from a number of sources. Historically it drained only into Alachua Sink. Water entering the Alachua Sink flows into the Floridan aquifer.[2] (Various sources stating that water entering the Alachua Sink flows to the Santa Fe River may be based on a story told by a Seminole guide to a white explorer in 1823, that a Seminole who had drowned in the sink was later found in the river.[3]) In 1927, Camps Canal was built, which linked the basin to the Orange Lake through the River Styx and ultimately to the Atlantic Ocean.

  • Bivens Arm
    • Tumbling Creek
    • Little Tumbling Creek
  • Sweetwater Branch
  • Prairie Creek
    • Newnans Lake
      • Hatchet Creek
      • Lake Forest Creek
      • Little Hatchet Creek
  • Chacala Run
    • Chacala Pond
      • Sawgrass Run
  • Dog Branch

Lake Okeechobee

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Lake Okeechobee drains into the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lucie River, the West Palm Beach Canal, the Hillsboro Canal, the North New River Canal, and the Miami Canal, and into the Gulf of Mexico via the Caloosahatchee Canal which connects to the head of the Caloosahatchee River. The major input of water into Lake Okeechobee comes from the north, via the Kissimmee River. Rivers are listed as they enter Lake Okeechobee from west to east. Tributaries are listed as they enter their main stem from downstream to upstream.

Gulf coast

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Apalachicola River in Torreya State Park
Caloosahatchee River
Blackwater River in Blackwater River State Park
St. Marks River

Rivers are listed as they enter the gulf from south to north, then west. Tributaries are listed as they enter their main stem from downstream to upstream.

Alphabetically

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High resolution map of the state of Florida with all major waterways

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Clewell, Andre F. (1991). "Physical Environment". In Livingston, Robert J. (ed.). The Rivers of Florida. New York: Springer-Verlag. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-387-97363-X.
  2. ^ "Orange Creek Basin". Saint Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  3. ^ Meindl, Christopher (1996). "View of Paynes Prairie: Biography of a Wetland". The Florida Geographer. p. 57. Retrieved 2021-09-03 – via FAU Digital Library.
  4. ^ "Kissimmee Upper Basin" (PDF). South Florida Water Management District. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "Kissimmee Lower Basin" (PDF). South Florida Water Management District. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  • Fernald, Edward A., Ed. 1981. Drainage Basins and Divides. Atlas of Florida. Tallahassee, Florida: The Florida State University Foundation, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 0-9606708-0-7
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