Indian River Lagoon

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Indian River Lagoon

The Indian River Lagoon is a series of lagoons and inlets making up a portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
of Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
. Its full length extends from Ponce de León Inlet

Ponce de León Inlet

The Ponce de Le?n Inlet is a natural opening in the Bar in northern Florida that connects the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon and the south end of the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean....
in Volusia County, Florida

Volusia County, Florida

Volusia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 496,575 . Although Daytona Beach, Florida is Volusia County's best-known city, its county seat is DeLand, Florida, and its most populous city is currently Deltona, Florida....
, to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County has the largest land area located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2007, the county had an estimated population of 1,351,236 , making it the third most populous in the state of Florida and the twenty ninth most populous in the United States....
, and includes Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral

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The Indian River Lagoon is a series of lagoons and inlets making up a portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the U.S. state

U.S. state

Florida

Ponce de León Inlet

Volusia County, Florida

Palm Beach County, Florida

Cape Canaveral

Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish language Cabo Ca?averal, is a headlands and bays in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of that state's Atlantic Ocean coast 45 minutes East of Orlando by car....
.

The Indian River Lagoon is North America’s most diverse estuary with more than 2,200 different species of animals and 2,100 species of plants. The Lagoon varies in width from ½ mile to 5 miles and averages only 3 feet in depth. It serves as a spawning and nursery ground for many different species of oceanic and lagoon fish and shellfish. The lagoon also has one of the most diverse bird populations anywhere in America. Nearly 1/3 of the nation’s manatee population lives here or migrates through the Lagoon seasonally. In addition, its ocean beaches provide one of the densest sea turtle nesting areas found in the Western Hemisphere.

Portions of the Lagoon, from north to south:

Mosquito Lagoon
Mosquito Lagoon

Mosquito Lagoon is part of the Indian River Lagoon system and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends from Ponce de Le?n Inlet in Volusia County, Florida, to the north end of Merritt Island....
, from Ponce de Leon Inlet to the north end of Merritt Island
Merritt Island, Florida

Merritt Island is a census designated place in Brevard County, Florida, Florida, United States. It is located on the east coast of the state on the Atlantic Ocean....
, connected to Indian River by Haulover Canal.
Indian River
Indian River (Florida)

The Indian River is a waterway in Florida, a part of the Indian River Lagoon system which forms the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends from the border between Brevard County, Florida and Volusia County, Florida Counties southward along the western shore of Merritt Island, picking up the Banana River on the island's south side, then...
, the main body of water, from the north border between Volusia and Brevard
Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County is a County#United States located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 534,359....
Counties along the western shore of Merritt Island, southward to St. Lucie Inlet.
Banana River
Banana River

The Banana River is a lagoon that lies between Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island, Florida in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, and connects at its south end to the Indian River ; it is the only part of the lagoon system not in the Intracoastal Waterway....
, an offshoot of the Indian River, northward making up the eastern shore of Merritt Island.
Hobe Sound, the portion of the lagoon from St. Lucie Inlet to Jupiter Inlet.

It was originally named Rio de Ais after the Ais

Ais (tribe)

The Ais, or Ays were a tribe of Native Americans in the United States who inhabited the Atlantic Coast of Florida. They ranged from present day Cape Canaveral to the St....
Indian tribe, who lived along the east coast of Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
.

The diversity of the lagoon draws millions of boaters and fishermen annually, which brings tens of millions of dollars to Florida. Red Drum

Red Drum

The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or just Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico....
, Spotted seatrout

Spotted Seatrout

The spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, is a common estuary fish found in the southern United States. While most of these fish are caught on shallow, grassy flats, spotted seatrout reside in virtually any inshore waters, from the surf of outside islands to far up coastal rivers, where they often come for shelter during cold weather....
, Common Snook

Snook

Snook or Snoek may refer to:* Fish in the family** Centropomidae especially the common snook.** Gempylidae ** Percidae ** Scombridae , subfamily: Scombrinae...
, and the formidable Tarpon

Tarpon

The tarpons are two species of fish, the only members of the family Megalopidae and genus Megalops. They are large coastal fish prized by Angling....
are the main gamefish sought by anglers in the lagoon system.

Recently concerns have been raised as to the future of the lagoon system, especially in the southern half where frequent freshwater discharges seriously threaten water quality (decreasing the salinity needed by many fish species) and contribute to large algea blooms (water heavily saturated with plant fertilizers promote the algea blooms). Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee, locally referred to as The Lake or The Big O is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-largest freshwater lake wholly within the continental United States, second only to Lake Michigan and the largest in the southern United States....
is connected to the lagoon by the Okeechobee Waterway

Okeechobee Waterway

The Okeechobee Waterway is a man-made waterway stretching from Fort Myers, Florida on the west coast to Stuart, Florida on the east coast of Florida....
and the St. Lucie River

St. Lucie River

The St. Lucie River is a river in St. Lucie County, Florida and Martin County, Florida counties, Florida.Its North Fork flows south from St Lucie County into Martin County where it joins the north-flowing South Fork, which was once called the Halpatiokee River, just south of the old Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, Florida to form the main St....
meeting in Sewall's Point

Sewall's Point, Florida

Sewall's Point is a town located on the peninsula of the same name in Martin County, Florida, Florida, United States. The population was 1,946 at the 2000 census....
.

In 2008, a study valued the lagoon at $2.1 billion.

Indian River Lagoon

See also

External references