The Santa Fe River is a river in northern Florida. The watershed of the river is approximately and spreads across southern Columbia, southern Suwannee, western Bradford, far southern Baker, Union, northern and eastern Gilchrist, and northern Alachua counties.Florida State Map Collection. Geology.com The headwaters of the river are Lake Santa Fe, near Keystone Heights.Lake Santa Fe . Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The Santa Fe River is usually a slow-flowing river. This slow speed, combined with the abundant leaf-drop from nearby trees, especially Bald Cypress, leads to a very dark-brown river due to dissolved tannins.
The Santa Fe River is typical of many rivers in karst regions in that it completely disappears underground and then reappears downstream. The river drops into a large sinkhole in O'Leno State Park and reappears in the adjacent River Rise Preserve State Park. The land over the underground section of the river, referred to as a natural bridge, was used for the main route of the Spanish mission trail and the Bellamy Road to avoid a water crossing of the Santa Fe River.
Springs like Gilchrist Blue, Ginnie, Hornsby, Lily, Poe, and Rum Island springs are located at the banks of the river, mostly downstream of the river's reappearance above ground level.Florida Department of Environmental Protection. "Santa Fe Springs". Florida's Springs. Retrieved on 2012-11-16. The water temperature near the numerous springs is always around .Canoe Trips . UF Canoe & Rafting Club. The area is sparsely populated compared to the rest of Florida, there have been sightings of animals like the black bear, bobcat, the rare Florida panther and due to the near-constant water temperatures along many portions of the river, manatees.Gilchrist County, The natural place to live As with many rivers in Florida, plant and animal fossil remnants are plentiful along the Santa Fe.Fossiliferous. E.R.Matheau-Raven. COLLECTING FOSSIL PLANTS IN FLORIDA. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida.
The tributaries of the Santa Fe include the New River, Olustee Creek, and the Ichetucknee River, another spring-fed river. The Santa Fe empties into the Suwannee River near Branford, Florida.. National Showcase Watersheds, United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The river derives its name from a Franciscan mission named Santa Fé de Toloca formerly located near the river.
List of crossings CrossingFDOT Florida Bridge Data 01-05-2010 CarriesU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National MapImage Location CoordinatesHeadwaters (Santa Fe Lake)WaldoCulvert County Road 1471 Wildwood Subdivision(Railroad)260107, 260108HamptonUnnamed Road N County Road 225SW 136th AvenueBrooker260025260032 County Road 1493Confluence with New RiverWorthington Springs260111260086 SW County Road 241290086, 290087High Springs260112260006310007Fort Whiteconfluence with Ichetucknee River310005BranfordMouth (Suwannee River)
References
External links The Santa Fe River, saveoursuwannee.org Paddling on Santa Fe River, adventureoutpost.net Our Santa Fe River, oursantaferiver.org Kayak The Santa Fe River, Florida, irishwaterdogs.com