Withlacoochee River (Florida)

Course of the southern Withlacoochee River

The Withlacoochee River or Crooked River is a river in central Florida, in the United States. It originates in the Green Swamp, east of Polk City, flowing west, then north, then northwest and finally west again before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river is 141 miles (227 km) long^[1] and has a drainage basin of 1,170 square miles (3,000 km²).

Along the route of central Florida's Withlacoochee River is the 46-mile-long (74 km) Withlacoochee State Trail, the longest paved rail trail in Florida;^[2] the Cypress Lake Preserve, a 324-acre (1.31 km²) park with approximately 600 feet (180 m) of frontage;^[3] and Nobleton Wayside Park, a 2-acre (8,100 m²) park in Nobleton that includes a boat ramp, shelter, basketball court, and picnic tables.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District operates a 5,484-acre (2,219 ha) nature preserve and recreational area with 3.7 miles (6.0 km) of frontage on the Withlacoochee River in Citrus County. The property was purchased for $13.5 million in 2005 from the South Florida Council, which had used it as the McGregor Smith Scout Reservation.^[4]

The Withlacoochee River flows through Pasco and Hernando counties, and then forms part of the boundary between Hernando County and Sumter County and all of the boundary between Citrus County and Sumter County, between Citrus County and Marion County and between Citrus County and Levy County (including Lake Rousseau). The largest city close to the river is Dade City.

Tsala Apopka Lake is an area composed of a number of lakes, swamps and marshes interspersed with islands located in Citrus County within the bend of the river where it turns from north flowing to west flowing. The area was historically connected to the river by wetlands. Starting in the 1880s, canals were dug connecting the river to various parts of the lake area.^[5] The area of Tsala Apopka Lake historically has been known as the "Cove of the Withlacoochee".^[6]

History

On December 31, 1835, the Battle of Ouithlacoochie was fought on the banks of the river. It was one of the first engagements of the Second Seminole War.^[7]

In the 1890s, logs, stumps, and other debris were removed from the river to facilitate the travel of barges carrying phosphate to Port Inglis. Phosphate continued to move along the river this way until WWI, when shipping lanes were closed, and then by the early 1930s, the phosphate deposits were completely depleted.^[8]

Etymology

"Withlacoochee" probably stems from a Muskhogean dialect, which suggests that its application is comparatively recent. It is compounded of Creek we (water), thlako (big), and chee (little), or little big water. This word combination signifies little river in the Creek language, and as we-lako or wethlako may also refer to a lake, it may signify a river of lakes, or lake river.^[9] An alternate etymology holds that Withlacoochee is a Native American word meaning "crooked river", which accurately describes the river as it makes its 70-mile (110 km) journey from the Green Swamp in northern Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico at Yankeetown.^[10]

List of crossings

Crossing	Carries	Location	Coordinates
Headwaters (Green Swamp)			28°21′39″N 81°49′8″W / 28.36083°N 81.81889°W / 28.36083; -81.81889
160210	SR 33	Lake-Polk County Line.	28°21′39″N 81°49′8″W / 28.36083°N 81.81889°W / 28.36083; -81.81889
140018	SR 471	Sumter-Pasco-Polk County Line.	28°18′47″N 82°3′21″W / 28.31306°N 82.05583°W / 28.31306; -82.05583
	River Road (The Lanier Bridge)^[11]	Withlacoochee River County Park, East of Dade City
	Former ACL Railroad Bridge (Orange Belt Railway)	Withlacoochee State Forest Richloam WMA
140031	SR 575	Lacoochee	28°28′34″N 82°9′22″W / 28.47611°N 82.15611°W / 28.47611; -82.15611
	CSX S-Line (Wildwood Subdivision)		28°28′39″N 82°9′46″W / 28.47750°N 82.16278°W / 28.47750; -82.16278
080030	US 301		28°28′48″N 82°10′40″W / 28.48000°N 82.17778°W / 28.48000; -82.17778
140066	US 98	Trilby	28°28′36″N 82°11′45″W / 28.47667°N 82.19583°W / 28.47667; -82.19583
	US 98-SR 50 Cortez Boulevard	Ridge Manor	28°31′8″N 82°12′34″W / 28.51889°N 82.20944°W / 28.51889; -82.20944
Confluence with Little Withlacoochee River		River Junction State Park	28°34′21″N 82°12′0″W / 28.57250°N 82.20000°W / 28.57250; -82.20000
080026 (NB) 080025 (SB)	Interstate 75	Silver Lake	28°34′47″N 82°13′2″W / 28.57972°N 82.21722°W / 28.57972; -82.21722
184019	CR 476	Nobleton	28°38′40″N 82°15′26″W / 28.64444°N 82.25722°W / 28.64444; -82.25722
184006	CR 48	Bay Hill	28°43′26″N 82°14′31″W / 28.72389°N 82.24194°W / 28.72389; -82.24194
020004 (EB) 020003 (WB)	SR 44 Gulf-Atlantic Highway	Rutland	28°51′6″N 82°13′17″W / 28.85167°N 82.22139°W / 28.85167; -82.22139
020008	SR 200	Stoke's Ferry	28°59′19″N 82°20′59″W / 28.98861°N 82.34972°W / 28.98861; -82.34972
	Former San Jose Boulevard Bridge	Dunnellon-Citrus Springs	29°2′34″N 82°27′26″W / 29.04278°N 82.45722°W / 29.04278; -82.45722
	Dunnellon Trail Bridge Abandoned Seaboard Air Line Railroad line	Dunnellon-Citrus Springs	29°2′34″N 82°27′26″W / 29.04278°N 82.45722°W / 29.04278; -82.45722
	CSX Citrus Springs-Dunnellon Bridge	Citrus Springs-Dunnellon	29°2′43″N 82°27′51″W / 29.04528°N 82.46417°W / 29.04528; -82.46417
Brittan Alexander Bridge 020026	US 41 Main Street	Citrus Springs-Dunnellon	29°2′45″N 82°27′53″W / 29.04583°N 82.46472°W / 29.04583; -82.46472
020920 (NB) 020005 (SB)	US 19 98	Red Level-Inglis	29°1′31″N 82°40′9″W / 29.02528°N 82.66917°W / 29.02528; -82.66917
Mouth (Gulf of Mexico)			28°59′39″N 82°45′30″W / 28.99417°N 82.75833°W / 28.99417; -82.75833