Ichetucknee River
Ichetucknee River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Florida |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | North central Florida |
• elevation | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
Mouth | |
• location | Santa Fe River |
Length | 6 mi (9.7 km) |
The Ichetucknee River is a spring-fed, pristine river in
The water in the river is crystal-clear and is 72 °F (22 °C) year-round. There are nine named springs within the Ichetucknee Springs group with an average total flow of 212 million gallons per day. The group includes: Ichetucknee Springs, Cedar Head Spring, Blue Hole Spring, Roaring Springs, Singing Springs, Boiling Spring, Grassy Hole Springs, Mill Pond Spring, and Coffee Spring. The Ichetucknee is a tributary of the Santa Fe River, which in turn flows into the Suwannee River before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
The park restricts launch and end points along the river, permitting a tube/raft excursion of 45 min, 1.5 or 3 hours. A variety of commercial vendors, located outside the entrance to the park, rent tubes and rafts for a modest fee. Park wildlife includes:
Etymology
The name is probably derived from a
History
The 17th-century Spanish
The river was a popular swimming and tubing location for locals and University of Florida students up through the 1960s, which led to litter and other problems.[6][7] The State of Florida purchased the property in 1970 and began a cleanup and restoration project. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972, and became a tourist attraction.[8]
Current threats
In the early 1990s, the springs were showing signs of an even more disturbing degradation: a progressive decline in water quality. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection commissioned studies which showed that nutrient levels were steadily increasing. Additionally, some swimmers and tubers began to report strange skin rashes, possibly caused by algae fed by nutrients introduced into the aquifer.[9]
See also
Ichetucknee Springs State Park
References
- ISBN 9780806135984.
- ^ Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). Mark F. Boyd (ed.). Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey.
- ISBN 0-8130-1232-5
- ^ SWANTON, JOHN R. (1922-01-01). EARLY HISTORY OF THE CREEK INDIANS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS. p. 403.
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- ^ Ichetucknee River History
- ^ Florida Springs.org-Science Helps Protect a Springshed
- ^ Patricia C. Behnke. "Skinny Dipping in the Ichetucknee". Authorsden.com. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
- ^ "Ichetucknee Springs". www.floridasprings.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
- ^ Craig Pittman. "Springs bring mystery illness". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2008-10-23.