Econfina Creek
Encyclopedia
Econfina Creek is a small river in the middle Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...

. It flows through hilly country, and has sections of whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 rapids. Much of its flow comes from springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

. The river ends at Deer Point Lake, a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 that provides the freshwater supply for Panama City
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...

 and much of Bay County
Bay County, Florida
Bay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 163,505 . Its county seat is Panama City, Florida. The county is best known for its white sand beaches and crystal blue water, where large pods of dolphins swim year-round...

.

The name "Econfina" derives from the Creek
Creek language
The Creek language, also known as Muskogee or Muscogee , is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee and Seminole people primarily in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Florida....

 ekana, which means "earthy", and feno, which means "bridge" or "footlog", referring to a natural bridge
Natural Bridge
Natural bridge or Natural Bridge can refer to several things:*Natural arch, a land formation sometimes referred to as a natural bridge*Natural Bridge, Alabama*Natural Bridge, New York...

 that crossed the river about 15 miles upstream form its mouth until it collapsed in the 19th century. The Penscola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

 - St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

 road (the Bellamy Road
Bellamy Road
The Bellamy Road was the first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial Florida.In 1824, only five years after Florida became a United States territory , Congress authorized the construction of its first federal highway. It would be a wide road, connecting Pensacola to St. Augustine...

) built in the 1820s crossed this natural bridge.

Course

Econfina Creek arises in the southwest corner of Jackson County
Jackson County, Florida
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The population as of the 2000 census was 46,755. As of 2005, the population was estimated to be 48,985 . Its county seat is Marianna, Florida.- History :...

, flows into Bay County, thence into Washington County
Washington County, Florida
Washington County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 20,973. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 22,299. Its county seat is Chipley, Florida...

, and returns to Bay County to end in Deer Point Lake. Deer Point Lake is a reservoir that empties directly into North Bay, an arm of St. Andrews Bay. Econfina Creek is 26 miles (41.8 km) long and has a watershed of 275 square mile.

Econfina Creek flows through a hilly limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 landscape, and there are springs, sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...

s, caves and rock outcrops along the river. One cave by the river is the only known location for a species of snail (Dasyscias franzi) that feeds on wood carried into the cave by beavers. The vegetation along the river includes plants typical of the Appalachian mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

, but rarely found in Florida.

Springs

Much of the river's flow comes from 11 named springs or spring groups consisting of more than 36 vents, including the first magnitude Gainer Springs Group and four second magnitude springs. The springs on Econfina Creek are concentrated in a 4.75 miles (7.6 km) long section where the river cuts through the Floridan Aquifer
Floridan Aquifer
The Floridan Aquifer is a portion of the principal artesian aquifer that extends into Florida and is composed of carbonate rock and located beneath the coastal regions of the Southeastern United States and is one of the world's most productive aquifers. It is under all of Florida as well as ...

. More than 80% of the normal discharge of Econfina Creek into Deer Point Lake comes from the springs in this part of the river.

Public lands

The Northwest Florida Water Management District
Northwest Florida Water Management District
The Northwest Florida Water Management District stretches from the St. Marks River Basin in Jefferson County to the Perdido River in Escambia County. The District is one of five water management districts in Florida created by the Water Resources Act of 1972...

 owns most of the land along the river, including 41000 acre in the Econfina Creek Water Management District. The Water Management Area is also operated as the Econfina Creek Wildlife Management Area by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a Florida government agency charged with managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, regulating Florida's fisheries and wildlife, and enforcing related laws...

.

Paddling trail

There is a 24 miles (38.6 km) long designated paddling trail from the Scott Road Bridge to the State Road 388 Bridge. This trail has the steepest fall of any designated canoe trail in Florida. It has been described as "the most exciting canoe trail in the state." The Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the Florida government agency charged with environmental protection.-History:...

 recommends that only experienced paddlers use the upper portion of the trail, and advises that the river is too dangerous for paddling when the water is high following heavy rains.

History

More than 120 archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...

s have been identified in the Econfina Creek watershed, including many prehistoric sites. Paleo-Indian arrowheads, about 7,000 years old, have been found at some of the sites. When humans first entered Florida about 12,000 years ago, the water table was much lower, and the course of Econfina Creek was a series of waterholes, and not a flowing river. Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

 and Creek people
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...

 lived around Econfina Creek at various times prior the acquisition of Florida by the United States. In the 1830s these people were forced to leave Florida as part of the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...

.

White settlers started moving into the land along Econfina Creek shortly after the United States acquired Florida in 1821. One of the earliest settlers was William Gainer, who was with Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

's forces when they passed through the area on their way to Pensacola in 1818 (during the First Seminole War). The bottom land along Econfina Creek was the only place in what is now Bay County that had plantations using slaves. The first cotton shipped from St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Florida
St. Joseph, Florida, was a boomtown that briefly became the largest community in Florida, before being destroyed only eight years after it was founded. St. Joseph was founded in 1835 on the shores of St. Joseph Bay, one of the finest natural harbors on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The...

was reported to have come from Econfina. To facilitate this traffic, the Territorial Legislative Council declared Econfina Creek a navigable river up the Gainer Bridge (built by William Gainer after the natural bridge collapsed).

Deer Point Lake

Deer Point Lake was created when a dam was constructed across North Bay, part of St. Andrews Bay, in 1961. The reservoir covers 5000 acre. It has a watershed (including Econfina Creek) of 422 square mile. The reservoir receives an average of 600000000 gallons (2,271,247,200 l) a day from four sources, and provides fresh water to Panama City and other parts of Bay County. About 60% of the water in the reservoir comes from Econfina Creek. During very dry conditions, Econfina Creek supplies up to 80% of the water flowing into the reservoir.
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