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The St. Johns River (commonly misspelled as the St. John's
River) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida, stretching
310 miles (500 km) from Indian River County to the Atlantic
Ocean in Duval County. The St. Johns river is one of many rivers
that flow North, and it is the longest river in the United States
that flows north. 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.
Despite the pollution the river is home to numerous species. It
is not uncommon to see dolphins in the river north of
Jacksonville, manatees in the springtime when the water warms,
alligators, bald eagles, ospreys, stingrays, and many species of
fish, both salt and freshwater varieties.
The upper (southern) basin of the river has indistinct banks,
with numerous sloughs and lagoons, often pooling into ponds
and lakes. Some of the larger lakes are known today as Lake Hell
'n' Blazes, Sawgrass Lake, Lake Washington, 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 was sent by King George III 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 (northern) basin begins where the largest tributary
of the St. Johns, the Ocklawaha River, joins the flow. (Both rivers
are part of the modern Caravelle Ranch Wildlife Management
Area.) 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, where
fresh and salt water meet, and a wide diversity of living species
inhabit the islands, inlets, sounds, streams and marshes of the
area.
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 (30 feet over
310 miles).
The river basin was the home to the native Timucua 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 Huguenots 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 (St. Johns Bluff) became
the location of Fort Caroline, the first French colony 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 (and the fort) San
Mateo, after Saint Matthew, whose feast day fell the day after
their victory over the French.
A Catholic 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.
As the St. Johns River flows through the city of Jacksonville,
Florida it is spanned by seven bridges (see below). The
Jacksonville Port Authority (often abbreviated JAXPORT)
facilities at the mouth of the St. Johns river make up Florida's
second largest port. In fiscal year 2003, JAXPORT handled over
1,500 ships, delivering almost 700,000 containers and over
500,000 cars. Some of the major local commodities include
gypsum and oil.
The U.S. Navy maintains the Naval Air Station Jacksonville and
Naval Station Mayport near the river's mouth. It was designated
as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997.
The St. Johns is known for excellent fishing, especially
largemouth bass. Its estuarial nature provides both freshwater
and saltwater or brackish-water species. Saltwater species include
redfish, red drum, flounder, tarpon, and the brackish water
seatrout. A recent report states that saltwater species have been
venturing farther up the river (southwards) in recent years.
Some of the best known fishing occurs in January–March,
when the American shad 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.
St. Johns River
| www.fishbrevard.com |
| Map of the St. Johns River in 1876. |
| For archived fishing reports on the St. Johns, click here! |