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St. Johns River

The St. Johns River is the longest river River

A river is a large natural waterway [i]. ... 

 in the U.S. United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 state of Florida Florida

Florida is a U.S. state [i] located in the southeastern [i] United States [i] ... 

, stretching 310 miles from Indian River County Indian River County, Florida

Indian River County is a county [i] located in the U.S. state [i] of Florida [i]. ... 

 to the Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean [i], covering approximately one-fifth of the Earth [i]'s ... 

 in Duval County Duval County, Florida

Duval County is a county [i] located in the U.S. state [i] of Florida [i]. ... 

. The St. Johns river is the longest river in the United States that flows north. It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers American Heritage Rivers

American Heritage Rivers are designated by ... 

 in 1997. The elevation change from headwaters to mouth is only about 30 feet, making the St. Johns one of the world's "laziest" rivers. This slow flow makes it difficult for pollutants to be flushed from the waters, which has become a serious problem for the river ecosystem.

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Encyclopedia






The St. Johns River is the longest river River

A river is a large natural waterway [i]. ... 

 in the U.S. United States

The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., a... 

 state of Florida Florida

Florida is a U.S. state [i] located in the southeastern [i] United States [i] ... 

, stretching 310 miles from Indian River County Indian River County, Florida

Indian River County is a county [i] located in the U.S. state [i] of Florida [i].... 

 to the Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean [i], covering approximately one-fifth of the Earth [i]'s ... 

 in Duval County Duval County, Florida

Duval County is a county [i] located in the U.S. state [i] of Florida [i]. ... 

. The St. Johns river is the longest river in the United States that flows north. It was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers American Heritage Rivers

American Heritage Rivers are designated by
... 

 in 1997.

The elevation change from headwaters to mouth is only about 30 feet, making the St. Johns one of the world's "laziest" rivers. This slow flow makes it difficult for pollutants to be flushed from the waters, which has become a serious problem for the river ecosystem. Still, the river is home to numerous species of plants and animals. It is not uncommon to see dolphin Dolphin

Dolphins are highly intelligent aquatic mammal [i]s closely related to whale [i]s and porpoise [i]s. ... 

s in the river north of Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the most populous city [i] in the state of Florida [i] and the thirteenth most populous [i]... 

, manatee Manatee

Manatees are large aquatic mammal [i]s sometimes known as sea cows. ... 

s in the springtime when the water warms up, alligator Alligator

An alligator is a crocodilian [i] in the genus [i] Alligator of the family [i] Alligatoridae [i] ... 

s, bald eagle Bald Eagle

[i] found in [[North America]... 

s, osprey Osprey

The Osprey is a medium large raptor [i] which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide d ... 

s, stingray Stingray

Dasyatidae is a family of rays [i], cartilaginous [i] marine [i] fish [i]es, re ... 

s, and many species of fish, both salt and fresh water.

History and names

More than 100,000 years ago, the area of land that now comprises the river was connected to the Atlantic Ocean for most, if not all, of its length, making the river nothing more than an extended system of lagoons and tributaries. As the ocean levels dropped, barrier islands and reef formations effectively walled off the system of lagoons from the ocean, forming the river. This unusual geologic past explains why a river of this size arose with such little drop in elevation from source to mouth .

The river basin was the home to the native Timucua Timucua

The Timucua were a American Indian [i] people who lived in Northeast [i] ... 

 tribes, who called it Welaka, or "river of lakes".

In the early 1500s, Spanish explorers called the river Río de Corrientes, or "river of currents".

An expedition of French Huguenot Huguenot

In the 16th [i] and 17th [i] centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to ... 

s landed at the mouth of the river on May 1, 1562, and thus called it Rivière du Mai, or "river of May". In 1564, a bluff overlooking this site became the location of Fort Caroline Fort Caroline

Fort Caroline was the first permanent French colony [i] in North America [i] ... 

, the first French colony French colonial empires

France [i] had colonial [i] possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th century [i] ... 

 in North America. This fort was captured by the Spanish from St. Augustine a little over a year after it was founded.

The conquering Spanish renamed the river San Mateo, after Saint Matthew, whose feast day fell the day after their victory over the French.

A Catholic Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian [i] Church [i] ... 

 mission named San Juan del Puerto was founded on Fort St. George Island near the river's mouth around 1578, and in time the river came to be known as Río de San Juan. This was translated St. Johns River in English, and this name has remained intact through colonization, war, and the creation of the United States.

The three basins

The upper basin of the river has indistinct banks, with numerous slough Slough



Slough is a town and unitary authority [i] in Berkshire [i] in the South East England [i] region... 

s and lagoon Lagoon

This article is about natural lagoons.... 

s, often pooling into ponds and lakes. Some of the larger lakes are known today as Lake Hell 'n' Blazes, Sawgrass Lake, Lake Washington Lake Washington

Lake Washington is the second largest natural lake [i] in Washington [i] State, USA, after Lake Chelan [i] ... 

, Lake Winder, Lake Poinsett, Ruth Lake, Puzzle Lake, Lake Harney, Lake Jesup and Lake Monroe.

Below Lake Harney, the river is joined by the Econlockhatchee River, and runs between higher bluffs on either side, forming the middle basin. This part of the river runs through what is now the Ocala National Forest. After the English acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1762, English explorer William Bartram William Bartram

William Bartram was an American [i] naturalist [i], the son of John Bartram [i] ... 

 was sent by King George III George III of the United Kingdom

George III was King of Great Britain [i] and King of Ireland [i] from 25 October [i] ... 

 to explore the territory. In his subsequent book Travels, Bartram called the middle basin a "...blessed land where the gods have amassed into one heap all the flowering plants, birds, fish and other wildlife of two continents in order to turn the rushing streams, the silent lake shores and the awe-abiding woodlands of this mysterious land into a true garden of Eden." Here the river forms the broad and shallow Lake George, where marine sharks have been seen in drought years where the normally rain-fed freshwaters of the river cannot fight back the inflowing Atlantic salt water.

The lower basin begins where the largest tributary of the St. Johns, the Ocklawaha River, joins the flow. It passes through the historic city of Palatka, Florida, then through unspoiled riverine bottomland hardwoods, pine flatwoods and sandhill communities, on its way to Jacksonville.

Past Green Cove Springs, the river becomes an estuary Estuary

An estuary is a mouth of a river [i] with a triangle form, semi-enclosed coastal [i] body of water [i] w... 

, where fresh and salt water meet, and a wide diversity of living species inhabit the islands, inlets, sounds, streams and marshes of the area.

Fishing

The St. Johns is known for excellent fishing, especially largemouth bass Largemouth bass

The Largemouth bass is a species of fish.... 

. Its estuarial nature provides both freshwater and saltwater or brackish-water species. Saltwater species include redfish, red drum, flouder, tarpon, and the brackish water sea trout Brown trout

The Brown Trout and the Sea Trout are fish [i] of the same species distinguished chiefly by the fa... 

 ,known locally as the "gator trout". A recent report states that saltwater species have been venturing farther up the river in recent years.

Some of the best known fishing occurs in January–March, when the American shad American shad

The American shad or Atlantic Shad is a species [i] of anadromous [i] fish [i] in family [i] Clupeidae [i] ... 

 run up the river, and it becomes full of trolling boats. The shad, like the salmon, are anadromous and live most of their life at sea. They are caught primarily for the eggs, shad roe, for the flesh is below average and full of small bones.

Port city of Jacksonville



As the St. Johns River flows through the city of Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the most populous city [i] in the state of Florida [i] and the thirteenth most populous [i]... 

 it is spanned by seven bridges . The Jacksonville Port Authority facilities at the mouth of the St. Johns river make up Florida's second largest port Port

A port is a facility for receiving ship [i]s and transferring cargo [i] to and from them.... 

. In fiscal year 2003 2004

2004 was a leap year starting on Thursday [i] of the Gregorian calendar [i].
... 

, JAXPORT handled over 1,500 ships, delivering almost 700,000 containers and over 500,000 cars. Some of the major local commodities include gypsum Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft mineral [i] composed of calcium sulfate [i] dihydrate, with the chemical formula [i] ... 

 and oil Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a black, dark brown or greenish liquid [i] found in porous rock formati ... 

.

The U.S. Navy United States Navy

The United States Navy is the branch of the United States armed forces [i] responsible for conducting naval [i] ... 

 maintains the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport near the river's mouth.

See also

  • List of Florida rivers
  • St. John River Saint John River

    The Saint John River is a river, approximately 418 mi long, located in the U.S. state [i] of Maine [i] a ... 

    , in Maine Maine

    Maine is a U.S. state [i] in the New England [i] region of the northeastern United States [i]. ... 

     and New Brunswick New Brunswick

    New Brunswick , is one of Canada's [i] three Maritime provinces [i], and the only officially bili... 



External links

  • William Bartram explores the St. John's River, just south of St. Augustine, Florida, in April of 1774.
  • Account of redfish increasing in the St. Johns while black bass decrease.