Withlacoochee River (Florida)

This article is about the southern Withlacoochee River. For the northern river, see Withlacoochee River (Suwannee River).

Withlacoochee River route

Withlacoochee River, looking east in Hernando County, just north of the Pasco County border.

The Withlacoochee River (or Crooked River) originates in central Florida's Green Swamp, east of Polk City. It flows west, then north, and then turns northwest and finally west again before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river is 141 miles (227 km) long and has a drainage basin of 1,170 square miles (3,000 km²). It is believed to have been named after the Withlacoochee River to the north.

Along its route are the 46-mile-long (74 km) Withlacoochee State Trail, the longest paved rail trail in Florida, the Cypress Lake Preserve, a 324-acre (1.31 km²) park with approximately 600 feet (180 m) of frontage, 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 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.

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. The Withlacoochee flows just to the eastward of Tsala Apopka Lake, and the St. Johns River which flows through a series of large and small lakes was called welaka by the Seminoles. Withlacoochee is an Indian word meaning "crooked river" which accurately describes the river as it makes its 70-mile journey from the Green Swamp in northern Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico at Yankeetown.

List of crossings

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Crossing	Carries	Image	Location	Coordinates
Headwaters (Green Swamp)
140018	SR 471		Sumter-Pasco-Polk County Line.
140031	SR 575		Lacoochee
	CSX S-Line (Ocala Subdivision)		Lacoochee
080030	US 301		Lacoochee
140066	US 98		Trilby
	US 98-SR 50 Cortez Boulevard		Ridge Manor
Confluence with Little Withlacoochee River
080026 (NB) 080025 (SB)	Interstate 75		Silver Lake
184019	22px22px CR 476		Nobleton
184006	22px22px CR 48		Bay Hill
020004 (EB) 020003 (WB)	SR 44 Gulf-Atlantic Highway		Rutland
020008	SR 200		Stoke's Ferry
	Former San Jose Boulevard Bridge		Dunnellon-Citrus Springs
	Abandoned Seaboard Air Line Railroad Bridge		Dunnellon-Citrus Springs
	CSX Citrus Springs-Dunnellon Bridge		Citrus Springs-Dunnellon
Brittan Alexander Bridge 020026	US 41 Main Street		Citrus Springs-Dunnellon
020920 (NB) 020005 (SB)	US 19 98		Red Level-Inglis
Mouth (Gulf of Mexico)

See Also

• South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region

Further reading

• Henderson, Rex. 1990. Withlacoochee River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.

External links

• Withlacoochee River Canoe Trail at Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Withlacoochee River Watershed - Florida DEP