The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about 246 miles (396 km) long.[1] The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwanee Straits which separated peninsular Florida from the panhandle.

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Suwannee
The Suwannee River near Lake City, Florida
Suwannee River Drainage Basin
Location
Country	United States
, Georgia (U.S. state), Florida
Cities	Fargo, Georgia, White Springs, Florida, Branford, Florida
Physical characteristics
Source	Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
• location	Fargo, Georgia
Mouth	Gulf of Mexico
• location	Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Suwannee, Florida
• coordinates	29°17′18″N 83°9′57″W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	246 mi (396 km)
Discharge
• location	Gulf of Mexico
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Santa Fe River
• right	Alapaha River, Withlacoochee River

Geography

The headwaters of the Suwannee River are in the Okefenokee Swamp in the town of Fargo, Georgia. The river runs southwestward into the Florida Panhandle, then drops in elevation through limestone layers into a rare Florida whitewater rapid. Past the rapid, the Suwanee turns west near the town of White Springs, Florida, then connects to the confluences of the Alapaha River and Withlacoochee River.

Starting at the confluences of those three rivers, that confluence forms the southern borderline of Hamilton County, Florida. The Suwanee then bends southward near the town of Ellaville, Florida, followed by Luraville, Florida, then joins together with the Santa Fe River (Florida) from the east, south of the town of Branford, Florida.

The river ends and drains into the Gulf of Mexico on the outskirts of Suwannee, Florida.

Etymology

The Spanish recorded the native Timucua name of Guacara for the river that would later become known as the Suwannee. Different etymologies have been suggested for the modern name.

• San Juan: D.G. Brinton first suggested in his 1859 Notes on the Floridian Peninsula that Suwannee was a corruption of the Spanish San Juan.[2] This theory is supported by Jerald Milanich, who states that "Suwannee" developed through "San Juan-ee" from the 17th-century Spanish mission of San Juan de Guacara, located on the Suwannee River.[3]
• Shawnee: The migrations of the Shawnee (Shawnee: Shaawanwaki; Muscogee: Sawanoke) throughout the South have also been connected to the name Suwannee. As early as 1820, the Indian agent John Johnson said "the 'Suwaney' river was doubtless named after the Shawanoese [Shawnee], Suwaney being a corruption of Shawanoese."[4] However, the primary southern Shawnee settlements were along the Savannah River, with only the village of Ephippeck on the Apalachicola River being securely identified in Florida, casting doubt on this etymology.
• "Echo": In 1884, Albert S. Gatschet claimed that Suwannee derives from the Creek word sawani, meaning "echo", rejecting the earlier Shawnee theory.[5] Stephen Boyd's 1885 Indian Local Names with Their Interpretation [6] and Henry Gannett's 1905 work The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States repeat this interpretation, calling sawani an "Indian word" for "echo river".[7] Gatschet's etymology also survives in more recent publications, often mistaking the language of translation. For example, a University of South Florida website states that the "Timucuan Indian word Suwani means Echo River ... River of Reeds, Deep Water, or Crooked Black Water".[8] In 2004, William Bright repeats it again, now attributing the name "Suwanee" to a Cherokee village of Sawani, which is unlikely as the Cherokee never lived in Florida or south Georgia.[9] This etymology is now considered doubtful: 2004's A Dictionary of Creek Muscogee does not include the river as a place-name derived from Muscogee, and also lacks entries for "echo" and for words such as svwane, sawane, or svwvne, which would correspond to the anglicization "Suwannee".[10]

History

The Suwannee River area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the first millennium it was inhabited by the people of the Weedon Island culture, and around the year 900 a derivative local culture known as the Suwanee River Valley culture developed.

By the 16th century, the river was inhabited by two closely related Timuca-speaking peoples: the Yustaga, who lived on the west side of the river; and the Northern Utina, who lived on the east side.[11] By 1633, the Spanish had established the missions of San Juan de Guacara, San Francisco de Chuaquin, and San Augustin de Urihica along the Suwannee to convert these western Timucua peoples.[12]

In the 18th century, Seminoles lived by the river.

The steamboat Madison operated on the river before the Civil War, and the sulphur springs at White Springs became popular as a health resort, with 14 hotels in operation in the late 19th century.

Recreation

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge is unlike other refuges in that it was not established for the protection of a specific species, but in order to protect the high water quality of the historic Suwannee River."[13]

The Suwannee River Wilderness Trail is "a connected web of Florida State Parks, preserves and wilderness areas" that stretches more than 170 miles (274 kilometers), from Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park to the Gulf of Mexico.[14]

The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge offers bird and wildlife observation,[15] wildlife photography, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and interpretive walks.[16] Facilities include foot trails, boardwalks, paddling trails, wildlife drives, archaeological sites, observation decks and fishing piers.[13]

Crossings

Image	Crossing	Carries	Location	Opened	Closed	ID number	Coordinates
Georgia
		Suwannee River Sill	Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge				30.803778°N 82.417672°W / 30.803778; -82.417672
		Norfolk Southern Railway (Former Atlantic, Valdosta and Western Railway line)	Fargo				30.683964°N 82.559503°W / 30.683964; -82.559503
		US 441 / SR 89 / SR 94	Edith to Fargo	1952			30.680902°N 82.559930°W / 30.680902; -82.559930
Florida
	Turner Bridge (defunct)	Northeast 38th Trail	Cypress Creek Conservation Area		late 1950s		30.524596°N 82.727892°W / 30.524596; -82.727892
		CR 6	Bay Creek Conservation Area	1951		290027	30.507345°N 82.716491°W / 30.507345; -82.716491
	Cone Bridge (defunct)	Cone Bridge Road			late 1960s		30.444933°N 82.671049°W / 30.444933; -82.671049
	Godwin Bridge (defunct)	Godwin Bridge Road			late 1950s		30.350554°N 82.685593°W / 30.350554; -82.685593
		Norfolk Southern Railway (Former Georgia Southern and Florida Railway line)	White Springs				30.326129°N 82.738300°W / 30.326129; -82.738300
	Ed Scott Bridge	US 41	White Springs	1980		290083	30.325815°N 82.738476°W / 30.325815; -82.738476
	J. Graham Black-Joseph W. McAlpin Bridge	SR 136	White Springs	1954		290030	30.328156°N 82.759784°W / 30.328156; -82.759784
		I-75		1962, 1997			30.346492°N 82.832868°W / 30.346492; -82.832868
	Suwannee Springs Bridge (closed)	Former US 129	Suwannee Springs	1931	1974		30.395418°N 82.935808°W / 30.395418; -82.935808
	Old Suwanee Springs Bridge (defunct)	91st Drive	Suwannee Springs		1930s		30.394699°N 82.934293°W / 30.394699; -82.934293
		US 129	Suwannee Springs, Florida	1971		320019	30.398143°N 82.937750°W / 30.398143; -82.937750
		Former Savannah, Florida & Western Railway line (ACL, SBD, CSXT)		186?	1988		30.409236°N 82.951814°W / 30.409236; -82.951814
	Nobels Ferry Bridge	CR 249		1984		320052	30.437103°N 83.091613°W / 30.437103; -83.091613
	Old Nobels Ferry Bridge (defunct)						30.436936°N 83.094566°W / 30.436936; -83.094566
		CSX Transportation (Former Pensacola and Georgia Railroad line)	Ellaville				30.385055°N 83.172333°W / 30.385055; -83.172333
	Hillman Bridge (closed)	Former US 90	Ellaville	1926	1986		30.384711°N 83.174660°W / 30.384711; -83.174660
		US 90	Ellaville	1986		350062	30.384719°N 83.175780°W / 30.384719; -83.175780
		I-10	Suwannee River State Park	1971			30.357776°N 83.193314°W / 30.357776; -83.193314
		CR 250	Dowling Park	1955		370018	30.244572°N 83.249696°W / 30.244572; -83.249696
		Former Live Oak, Perry and Gulf Railroad line	Dowling Park	1957	1977		30.243270°N 83.250864°W / 30.243270; -83.250864
	Hal W. Adams Bridge	SR 51	Luraville	1947		330009	30.099254°N 83.171785°W / 30.099254; -83.171785
	Drew Bridge (closed)	Former Suwannee & San Pedro Railroad line	Mayo	1901	1920		30.101030°N 83.114136°W / 30.101030; -83.114136
	Frank R. Norris Bridge	US 27	Branford	1989			29.955173°N 82.929550°W / 29.955173; -82.929550
	W. O. Cannon - D. W. McCollister Bridge	CR 340		1965		310002	29.795707°N 82.919843°W / 29.795707; -82.919843
		Nature Coast State Trail (Former CSX Transportation line)	Old Town				29.608282°N 82.971233°W / 29.608282; -82.971233
	Joe H. Anderson Sr. Bridge	US 19 / US 98 / US 27 Alt.	Fanning Springs	1963		300031, 300061	29.591323°N 82.937398°W / 29.591323; -82.937398

See also

• List of Florida rivers
• List of Georgia rivers
• South Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region

Notes

References

• Milanich, Jerald T. (2006). Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2966-X
• Worth, John E. (1998). Timucua Chiefdoms of Spanish Florida. Volume 1: Assimilation. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1574-X. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
• "Florida Dept. of Transportation, Florida Bridge Information" (PDF).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suwannee River.

• USF page with history
• EPA info on Suwannee basin
• Suwannee River Wilderness State Trail
• Info on the Suwannee River and surrounding areas from SRWMD
• Suwanee River Watershed - Florida DEP
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Suwannee River

Further reading

• Light, H.M., et al. (2002). Hydrology, vegetation, and soils of riverine and tidal floodplain forests of the lower Suwannee River, Florida, and potential impacts of flow reductions [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1656A]. Denver: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

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