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.
By drainage basin
Atlantic coast
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
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. (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.) 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
- Sawgrass Pond
- Lake Wauburg
- Georges Pond
- Burnt Pond
- Dog Branch
Lake Okeechobee
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
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.
- Joe River
- Shark River
- Harney River
- Broad River
- Rodgers River
- Lostmans River
- Chatham River
- Huston River
- Lopez River
- New River in Collier County
- Turner River
- Barron River
- Fakahatchee River
- Whitney River
- Big Marco River
- Henderson Creek
- Cocohatchee River
- Imperial River
- Estero River
- Caloosahatchee River
- Billy Creek
- Orange River
- Peace River
- Shell Creek
- Joshua Creek
- Charlie Creek
- Payne Creek
- Horse Creek
- Peace Creek
- Saddle Creek
- Myakka River
- Myakkahatchee Creek
- Manatee River
- Wares Creek
- Braden River
- Cooper Creek
- Little Manatee River
- Alafia River â Buckhorn Spring, Lithia Springs
- Palm River
- Hillsborough River â Crystal Springs
- New River in Pasco County
- Anclote River
- Pithlachascotee River
- Weeki Wachee River â Weeki Wachee Springs
- Chassahowitzka River
- Homosassa River â Homosassa Springs
- Crystal River
- Withlacoochee River (central Florida)
- Rainbow River â Rainbow Springs
- Little Withlacoochee River
- Waccasassa River
- Wekiva River (Gulf Hammock, Levy County)
- Suwannee River â Suwannee Springs, Hart Springs, Ginnie Springs, Fanning Springs, Manatee Springs, Otter Springs, Troy Spring
- Santa Fe River
- Ichetucknee River â Ichetucknee Springs
- New River
- Withlacoochee River (north Florida) â Madison Blue Springs
- Alapaha River â Alapaha Rise Spring
- Alapahoochee River
- Steinhatchee River
- Fenholloway River
- Econfina River
- Aucilla River â Nutall Rise
- Wacissa River â Wacissa Springs, Aucilla Spring,
- Pinhook River
- St. Marks River â St. Marks Spring
- East River
- Wakulla River â Wakulla Springs
- Ochlockonee River
- Sopchoppy River
- Telogia Creek
- Little River
- Crooked River
- Carrabelle River
- New River
- Apalachicola River
- Jackson River
- Chipola River â Baltzell Spring, Blue Hole Spring
- Chattahoochee River
- Econfina Creek
- Choctawhatchee River â Vortex Spring
- Holmes Creek
- Pea River
- East Bay River
- Yellow River
- Shoal River
- Blackwater River
- Big Coldwater Creek
- Big Juniper Creek
- Escambia River
- Perdido River
Alphabetically
See also
References
- Fernald, Edward A., Ed. 1981. Drainage Basins and Divides. Atlas of Florida. Tallahassee, Florida: The Florida State University Foundation, Inc. p. 18.
External links