River in the United States of America
The
Santa Fe River
is a 75-mile (121 km)
river
in northern
Florida
. The watershed of the river is approximately 1,380 square miles (3,574 km
2
) and spreads across southern
Columbia
, southern
Suwannee
, western
Bradford
, far southern
Baker
,
Union
, northern and eastern
Gilchrist
, and northern
Alachua
counties.
[1]
The headwaters of the river are
Lake Santa Fe
, near
Keystone Heights
.
[2]
The Santa Fe River is usually a slow-flowing river.
[
clarification needed
]
This slow speed, combined with the abundant leaf-drop from nearby trees, especially
Bald Cypress
, leads to a very
dark-brown river
due to dissolved
tannins
.
The Santa Fe River is typical of many rivers in
karst
regions in that it completely disappears underground and then reappears 5 kilometres (3 mi) downstream.
[3]
The river drops into a large sinkhole in
O'Leno State Park
[4]
and reappears in the adjacent
River Rise Preserve State Park
.
[5]
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
to avoid a water crossing of the Santa Fe River.
[6]
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.
[7]
The water temperature near the numerous
springs
is always around 72 °F (22 °C).
[8]
The area is sparsely populated compared to the rest of Florida, there have been sightings of animals like the
black bear
,
bobcat
, the rare
Florida panther
and due to the near-constant water temperatures along many portions of the river,
manatees
.
[9]
As with many rivers in Florida, plant and animal fossil remnants are plentiful along the Santa Fe.
[10]
[11]
[12]
The tributaries of the Santa Fe include the
New River
, Olustee Creek, and the
Ichetucknee River
, another spring-fed river.
[8]
The Santa Fe empties into the
Suwannee River
near
Branford, Florida
.
[13]
The river derives its name from a
Franciscan
mission named
Santa Fe de Toloca
formerly located near the river.
[14]
List of crossings
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Florida State Map Collection
. Geology.com
- ^
Lake Santa Fe
Archived
2004-07-23 at the
Wayback Machine
. Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
- ^
Taylor, Charles J.; Greene, Earl E.
"Hydrogeologic Characterization and Methods Used in the Investigation of Karst Hydrology"
(PDF)
. In Rosenberry, Donald O.; LaBaugh, James W. (eds.).
Field Techniques for Estimating Water Fluxes Between Surface Water and Ground Water
. United States Geological Survey. p. 75.
- ^
"Underground Rivers of Karst"
.
www.fgmorph.com
. Retrieved
2018-11-20
.
- ^
"Resurfacing Rivers of Karst"
.
www.fgmorph.com
. Retrieved
2018-11-20
.
- ^
"Natural and Historic Sites in Alachua County"
.
growth-management.alachuacounty.us
. Retrieved
2018-11-20
.
- ^
Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
"Santa Fe Springs"
. Florida's Springs. Retrieved on 2012-11-16.
- ^
a
b
Canoe Trips
Archived
2007-02-12 at the
Wayback Machine
.
UF
Canoe & Rafting Club.
- ^
Gilchrist County, The natural place to live
- ^
Fossiliferous
. E.R.Matheau-Raven.
Archived
October 24, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
COLLECTING FOSSIL PLANTS IN FLORIDA
. Florida Museum of Natural History,
University of Florida
.
- ^
Diets, habitat preferences, and niche differentiation of Cenozoic sirenians from Florida: evidence from stable isotopes
MacFadden, Bruce J; Higgins, Pennilyn; Clementz, Mark T; Jones, Douglas S.
Paleobiology
, Spring 2004.
- ^
Suwannee River Watershed
. National Showcase Watersheds,
United States Environmental Protection Agency
.
- ^
Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). Mark F. Boyd (ed.).
Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation
. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey.
- ^
FDOT Florida Bridge Data 01-05-2010
Archived
2011-06-16 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data.
The National Map
External links
[
edit
]
Significant waterways of Florida
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Larger rivers
| |
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Lakes
| |
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Smaller rivers
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Creeks and
streams
| |
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Canals
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See also
| |
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29°50′55″N
82°11′35″W
/
29.848535°N 82.193034°W
/
29.848535; -82.193034