Big Bend (Florida)

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This map shows the Big Bend Coast of Florida in blue, and the Big Bend region in red. BigbendFla2.png
This map shows the Big Bend Coast of Florida in blue, and the Big Bend region in red.

The Big Bend of Florida, United States, is an informally named geographic region of North Florida where the Florida Panhandle transitions to the Florida Peninsula south and east of Tallahassee (the area's principal city). [1] The region is known for its vast woodlands [2] and marshlands and its low population density relative to much of the state. The area is home to the largest single spring in the United States, the Alapaha Rise, and the longest surveyed underwater cave in the United States, the 32-mile (51 km) Wakulla-Leon Sinks cave system.

Contents

The related Big Bend Coast region includes the marshy coast without barrier islands that extends along the Gulf of Mexico from the Ocklockonee River to Anclote Key. Florida's Nature Coast region is included in the Big Bend Coast.

Geography

The Suwannee River seen near Fanning Springs in 1949 Lois Duncan Steinmetz gazing at the Suwannee River (8670981193).jpg
The Suwannee River seen near Fanning Springs in 1949

The Big Bend region is located at the northern end of Apalachee Bay along the broad arc of land where the predominantly east–west coastline of the Florida Panhandle connects to the predominantly north–south geography of the Florida Peninsula. It stretches eastward from the Forgotten Coast past the delta of the Suwannee River, with some definitions extending the southwestern end as far as the edge of the Tampa Bay area. Inland areas are often covered with woodlands and marshes around the southward- and southwestward-trending rivers draining towards the Gulf of Mexico. The Big Bend region includes the area between the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers historically called Middle Florida. [3] [4] North Florida's portion of the Red Hills Region is located within the Big Bend region. The Big Bend Coast either contains [5] or is coterminous with [6] the Nature Coast.

Coastal areas such as the Woodville Karst Plain exhibit drowned karst topography covered with salt marshes and feature numerous freshwater springs and oyster reefs. Sinkholes, subterranean rivers, and underwater caves (such as the connected Wakulla Cave and Leon Sinks system [7] ) are common. The area has little or no sand or mud. No barrier islands exist between the Ocklockonee River and Anclote Key, and the karst topography of the area has produced an irregular, frequently exposed, bedrock surface.

Due to the width of the adjacent continental shelf (over 150 kilometers (93 mi)), low gradient slope of the coast (1:5000), and shelter from the usual wind direction of storms, the Big Bend Coast is generally subject to low wave energy, but it is subject to storm surges. [8] [9] [10] [11]

The region is traversed by numerous rivers, such as the Suwannee, Crystal, Santa Fe, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and St. Marks Rivers. A number of these rivers have subterranean stretches, vanishing into the ground before reappearing hundreds or thousands of feet away. In addition to Tallahassee, other significant cities and towns in the region include Apalachicola, St. Marks, Carrabelle, Perry, Steinhatchee, and Cedar Key.

Springs

Madison Blue Springs near Madison, Florida Blue Spring.jpg
Madison Blue Springs near Madison, Florida

The Big Bend region is known for its springs. The area's karst topography is conducive to spring formation, and many of the resulting springs are protected by the state, including several designated as Outstanding Florida Springs. [12]

The largest single spring in the United States, the Alapaha Rise, is located in the region near the confluence of the Suwannee River and Alapaha River. Other area springs include Wakulla Springs, St. Marks Spring, Wacissa Springs, Aucilla Spring, Madison Blue Springs, Ichetucknee Springs, Suwannee Springs, Hart Springs, Ginnie Springs, Fanning Springs, Manatee Springs, Otter Springs, Troy Spring, Rainbow Springs, Homosassa Springs, and Weeki Wachee Springs.

Member counties

Definitions of the Big Bend region vary, with some sources identifying the region as only containing a few Florida counties near Apalachee Bay and Tallahassee and others extending to include many counties along the coast and some inland counties as well. The Big Bend Coast extends approximately 350 kilometers (220 mi) from Ocklockonee River to Anclote Key.[ citation needed ]

Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, [13] uses varying definitions of the region, including just four counties, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties, in one definition, [14] and 12 counties, including Levy, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Suwannee, Columbia, Hamilton, Baker, Union, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties, in another. [15]

Private agencies that self-identify as serving the Big Bend region often include Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties in their service areas. [16] [17] [18]

History

Illustration of a Southeastern Ceremonial Complex falcon dancer copper plate found in a burial mound at the Lake Jackson Mounds site Lake Jackson Braden Style Birdman Plate HRoe 2016.jpg
Illustration of a Southeastern Ceremonial Complex falcon dancer copper plate found in a burial mound at the Lake Jackson Mounds site

Archeological evidence from the Page–Ladson site on the Aucilla River suggests human presence in the Big Bend region began over 14,000 years ago, during the last ice age when sea level was up to 100 meters (330 ft) lower than present. Members of the Clovis culture (known for their distinctive arrow points) and Norwood culture (known for introducing pottery) visited or occupied sites in the area. [19] By the Woodland period around 1,000 BCE, many burial mounds and shell middens had been constructed, such as at Lake Jackson. There is evidence of habitation at the Crystal River Site by 500 BCE, and the site was possibly inhabited for 1,600 years – one of the longest continually occupied sites in Florida.

The Big Bend region includes the Apalachee Province, home of the Apalachee people, the southernmost extent of the Mississippian culture. The Apalachee capital Anhaica was located in what is now Tallahassee. In 1528, the Narváez expedition traveled through the region, and Hernando de Soto set up camp at Anhaica in 1539 (driving the inhabitants off in the process). [20] The region became part of the Spanish Empire's territory of Spanish Florida.

Spanish colonial forces constructed wooden fortifications at Fort San Marcos de Apalache south of modern-day Tallahassee in 1679, and by 1763 had partially completed a stone fortress on the site. [21] The region's transfer to the British by the 1763 Treaty of Paris (becoming part of East Florida) resulted in the fort gaining the name Fort St. Marks, before returning to Spanish control when they reclaimed the territory between the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers in either 1783 [21] or 1785. [22] The fort later fell into United States Army and then Confederate States Army hands (renamed Fort Ward) before being abandoned in 1865. [21] San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park now contains the site.

The region was known as a center for chattel slavery prior to the end of the American Civil War. Fugitive slaves settled along the Apalachicola River and formed a refuge at Negro Fort in the early 19th century; when the fort was attacked and destroyed early in the Seminole War in 1816, all African-American survivors were returned to slavery.[ citation needed ] Middle Florida, located between the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers, [3] had a slavery-dominated agricultural economy. [4] Numerous cotton plantations in Leon County utilized enslaved people as laborers, and by 1860 73% of the county's population was enslaved. [23] In the lead-up to the war Leon County produced more cotton than any other Florida county. [23]

The St. Marks Light in 1867. The lighthouse is now located within St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Stmarkslh1867.JPG
The St. Marks Light in 1867. The lighthouse is now located within St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

As the site of important seaports and fisheries, the Big Bend Coast saw several lighthouses constructed in the 19th century. St. Marks Light, the second-oldest light station in Florida, originally consisted of a tower constructed between 1829 and 1831; [24] after it was threatened by erosion the surviving second lighthouse was built in 1842. [25] Three successive Dog Island Lights were built between 1839 and 1851, with the last tower collapsing in 1873; the location was ultimately abandoned and the Crooked River Light built at Carrabelle to replace it in 1895. The Cedar Key Light at Seahorse Key was completed and lit in 1854, [26] and is the oldest standing lighthouse on the west coast of the Florida Peninsula. [27]

The Big Bend was part of the Confederate States of America's territory during the American Civil War. The Battle of Natural Bridge was fought when Union forces attempted to capture Fort Ward by crossing a natural bridge over the St. Marks River. [28] A small Confederate defending force, including students from the Florida Military and Collegiate Institute (which would later become Florida State University), held the bridge and prevented Union troops from attacking the fort.

Historic industries in the region included forestry, [29] fishing, [30] cotton plantation agriculture, [23] and shipping of these products (from ports such as Cedar Key and St. Marks).

Recreation

The Big Bend region's forested character, numerous waterways, and extensive coastline provide many opportunities for recreation. The Florida Trail passes through the Big Bend region, including portions of the Panhandle and Northern sections. Other trails include the Nature Coast State Trail, the Cross Florida Greenway, the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail, and the Nature Coast State Trail. The Great Florida Birding Trail contains several sites in the region.

Portions of Apalachicola National Forest are located within the Big Bend region, along with several of Florida's National Wildlife Refuges. A number of Florida state parks are located within the region, including Bald Point State Park, Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, St. Marks River State Park, Econfina River State Park, Forest Capital Museum State Park, Manatee Springs State Park, Cedar Key Museum State Park, Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park, Crystal River Archaeological State Park, Crystal River Preserve State Park, and Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.

Transportation

Major highways traversing the Big Bend region include Interstate 10, Interstate 75, U.S. Route 19 (and its spur route U.S. Route 319), U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 90, and U.S. Route 98. The Big Bend Scenic Byway is a marked route through Franklin, Leon, and Wakulla counties, [31] [32] [30] and the Apalachee Savannahs Scenic Byway also traverses the region. [33] Numerous state and local routes serve the region, including Florida State Road 12, Florida State Road 20, Florida State Road 24, Florida State Road 51, Florida State Road 59, and Florida State Road 65.

Scheduled airline service is available at Tallahassee International Airport. Smaller general aviation airports include Apalachicola Regional Airport, Perry-Foley Airport, Carrabelle–Thompson Airport, and George T. Lewis Airport.

The Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad is headquartered in Tallahassee and provides freight rail service across part of the Big Bend region.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakulla County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Wakulla County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,764. Its county seat is Crawfordville. Wakulla County is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Wakulla County has a near-absence of any municipal population, with two small municipalities holding about 3% of the population. The county seat, Crawfordville, is one of only two unincorporated county seats among Florida's 67 counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Marks, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. St. Marks is located on the Florida Panhandle in North Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico. The population at the 2020 census was 274, down from 293 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida panhandle</span> Northwest region of Florida

The Florida panhandle is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a salient roughly 200 miles (320 km) long, bordered by Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined. It is defined by its southern culture and rural geography relative to the rest of Florida, as well as closer cultural links to French-influenced Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Its major communities include Pensacola, Navarre, Destin, Panama City Beach, and Tallahassee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature Coast</span> Region in Florida

The Nature Coast is an informal, unofficial region of the U.S. state of Florida. The broadest definition of the Nature Coast includes the eight counties that abut the Gulf of Mexico along the Big Bend Coast defined by geologists: from west to east, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties. The name "Nature Coast" was originally devised as part of a marketing campaign to promote tourism in Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and parts of Marion and Pasco counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 267</span> State highway in Florida, United States

State Road 267 is a road in the U.S. state of Florida. It has a north–south state route in the eastern Florida panhandle, west of Tallahassee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakulla Springs</span> Spring and cave in the Floridan Aquifer under the Woodville Karst Plain of north Florida

Wakulla Springs is located 14 miles (23 km) south of Tallahassee, Florida and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267. It is protected in the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.

Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Marks River</span> River in Florida, United States

The St. Marks River is a river in the Big Bend region of Florida. It has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as an Outstanding Florida Water, and is the easternmost river within the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forgotten Coast</span> Region in Florida

The Forgotten Coast refers to a largely undeveloped and sparsely populated coastline in the panhandle of the US state of Florida. The trademarked term was first used in 1992, but the Forgotten Coast's exact extent is not agreed upon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Trail</span> A US National Scenic trail

The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States, created by the National Trails System Act of 1968. It runs 1,500 miles (2,400 km), from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation for hiking and other compatible activities within an hour's drive of most Floridians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochlockonee River</span> River in Florida and Georgia, United States

The Ochlockonee River is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for 206 miles (332 km) before terminating in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallahassee metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan area in Florida, United States

The Tallahassee metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on Tallahassee, the capital of the U.S. state of Florida, in Leon County. It is located in the center of North Florida in the Florida panhandle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakulla River</span> River in Florida, United States of America

The Wakulla River is an 11-mile-long (18 km) river in Wakulla County, Florida. It carries the outflow from Wakulla Springs, site of the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, to the St. Marks River 3 miles (5 km) north of the Gulf of Mexico. Its drainage basin extends northwest into Leon County, including Munson Slough, and may extend as far north as the Georgia border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellamy Road</span> Improved 19th century road in Florida, USA

The Bellamy Road was the first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial Florida.

The Indigenous peoples of Florida lived in what is now known as Florida for more than 12,000 years before the time of first contact with Europeans. However, the indigenous Floridians living east of the Apalachicola River had largely died out by the early 18th century. Some Apalachees migrated to Louisiana, where their descendants now live; some were taken to Cuba and Mexico by the Spanish in the 18th century, and a few may have been absorbed into the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Florida</span> Region in Florida

North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and nearby localities in Northeast Florida, an interior region known as North Central Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. North Florida is considered to be part of the Southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical Storm Debby (2012)</span> Atlantic tropical storm in 2012

Tropical Storm Debby was a tropical cyclone that caused extensive flooding in North Florida and Central Florida during late June 2012. The fourth tropical cyclone and named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Debby developed from a trough of low pressure in the central Gulf of Mexico on June 23. At the time, Debby was the earliest fourth named storm to form within the Atlantic basin on record. Despite a projected track toward landfall in Louisiana or Texas, the storm headed the opposite direction, moving slowly north-northeast and northeastward. The storm slowly strengthened, and at 1800 UTC on June 25, attained its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h). Dry air, westerly wind shear, and upwelling of cold waters prevented further intensification over the next 24 hours. Instead, Debby weakened, and by late on June 26, it was a minimal tropical storm. At 2100 UTC, the storm made landfall near Steinhatchee, Florida with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). Once inland, the system continued to weaken while crossing Florida, and dissipated shortly after emerging into the Atlantic on June 27.

The Suwannee Valley culture is defined as a Late Woodland Southeast period archaeological culture in north Florida, dating from around 750 to European contact. The core area of the culture was found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day Suwannee and southern and central Columbia counties. It was preceded by the McKeithen Weeden Island culture and followed by the Spanish mission period Leon-Jefferson culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bend Coast</span> Coastal area in Florida

The Big Bend Coast is the marshy coast extending about 350 kilometres (220 mi) from the western end of Apalachee Bay down the west coast of peninsular Florida to the Anclote River or Anclote Key. It partially overlaps the coast line of the Big Bend region of Florida, and is coterminous with the coast line of the Nature Coast region of Florida. Most of the coast remains undeveloped, with extensive salt marshes, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and oyster reefs offshore, and coastal hammocks onshore.

References

  1. ↑ "Measuring Population Density for Counties in Florida | www.bebr.ufl.edu". www.bebr.ufl.edu. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  2. ↑ "geology_tour". Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Territorial Period". Florida Department of State. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Florida's Culture of Slavery". Florida Humanities. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Nature Coast Area Map". NatureCoaster. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Where would you like to go?". Florida Nature Coast. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  7. ↑ Pulver, Dinah Voyles (August 1, 2007). "Underwater cave systems proves longest in N. America". News-Journal Corporation. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2008.
  8. ↑ Mattson, Robert A.; Frazer, Thomas K.; Hale, Jason; Blitch, Seth; Ajijevych, Lisa. "Florida Big Bend" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ A Photo Gallery of Florida's Big Bend Tidal Wetlands, USA: USGS, archived from the original on February 4, 2007, retrieved April 26, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Status of Knowledge in Florida's Big Bend", GSA, USA: Confex, 2004, archived from the original on December 26, 2015, retrieved April 26, 2007.
  11. ↑ Randazzo, Anthony F.; Jones, Douglas S., eds. (1997). The Geology of Florida. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. pp. 4, 165–66. ISBN   978-0-8130-1496-8.
  12. ↑ "Springs 101". Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "About Us". Visit Florida. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ Moreland, Nancy. "What to Do in Florida's Big Bend". Visit Florida. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ McKechnie, Gary. "Discover the Big Bend of Florida: a Road Trip to Rural". Visit Florida. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Big Bend Region", Early Learning Coalition, FL, USA, archived from the original on June 27, 2011, retrieved June 17, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Paralegal Association of Florida, Big Bend Chapter". Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Neighboring Counties". United Way of the Big Bend. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Global Underwater Explorers: The Norwood culture". Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  20. ↑ Charles Hudson (1998). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. University of Georgia Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN   978-0-8203-2062-5 . Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 "San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park - St. Marks, Florida". Explore Southern History. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  22. ↑ Wright, J. Leitch (1972). "Research Opportunities in the Spanish Borderlands: West Florida, 1781–1821". Latin American Research Review. 7 (2). Latin American Studies Association: 24–34. JSTOR   2502623.
  23. 1 2 3 Larry E. Rivers, ""Slavery in Microcosm: Leon County, Florida, 1824 to 1860", The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 235-245, https://www.jstor.org/stable/2716918 Archived 2020-08-02 at the Wayback Machine , consulted 6/4/2015.
  24. ↑ "Historic St. Marks Lighthouse". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  25. ↑ "History". Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  26. ↑ McCarthy, Kevin M. (1990). Florida Lighthouses. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press. p.  103. ISBN   0-8130-0993-6.
  27. ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Florida". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  28. ↑ "Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park". StateParks.Com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Big Bend - History". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  30. 1 2 "Big Bend Scenic Byway". National Scenic Byway Foundation. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  31. ↑ Colon, Dalia. "Big Bend Scenic Byway: Big on Wildlife". Visit Florida. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Scenic Byway". Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Apalachee Savannahs Scenic Byway". Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
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