Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of Florida, the most populous city in the state, and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968. Consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits. As of 2020, Jacksonville's population is 949,611, making it the 12th most populous city in the U.S., the most populous city in the Southeast, and the most populous city in the South outside of the state of Texas. With a population of 1,733,937, the Jacksonville metropolitan area ranks as Florida's fourth-largest metropolitan region.
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 2010 census, the population was 30,776. Its county seat is Crawfordville.
St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. The population was 293 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 319.
The Florida Panhandle is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a strip of land roughly 200 miles (320 km) long and 50 to 100 miles wide, lying between 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. In terms of population, major communities include Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Panama City.
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.
Bald Point State Park is a Florida State Park located south of Ochlockonee Bay, approximately seven miles southeast of Panacea, on St. James Island in Alligator Point, Tallahassee's closest beach, off U.S. 98, in Franklin County northwestern Florida. The address is 146 Box Cut. Park was named after Bald Point cape on eastern tip of St. James Island in Ochlockonee Bay.
Natural Bridge Battlefield State Historic Site is a Florida State Park in Leon County, Florida. It is located roughly between the city of Tallahassee and the town of St. Marks. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Natural Bridge was fought here on March 6, 1865. The site is named for a natural bridge over the St. Marks River. The Civil War Trust, a division of the American Battlefield Trust, and its partners have acquired and preserved 110 acres of the battlefield park.
Ochlockonee River State Park is a Florida State Park located in Wakulla County, Florida, south of the town of Sopchoppy in the Florida Panhandle. Located off of U.S. 319 on the Ochlockonee River, just north of the Gulf of Mexico coast, it is surrounded by the Apalachicola National Forest and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and provides important habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park is a Florida State Park in Wakulla County, Florida organized around the historic site of a Spanish colonial fort, which was used by succeeding nations that controlled the area. The Spanish first built wooden buildings and a stockade in the late 17th and early 18th centuries here, which were destroyed by a hurricane.
Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail is a rail trail and Florida State Park located on 16 miles (26 km) of the historic railbed of the Tallahassee Railroad, which ran between Tallahassee and St. Marks, Florida. The trail ends near the confluence of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers. The portion of the trail south of US 98 is designated as a portion of the Florida National Scenic Trail. A paved extension of the trail extends north for approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) into the City of Tallahassee.
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.
The Withlacoochee River or Crooked River is a river in central Florida, in the United States. It originates in the Green Swamp, east of Polk City, flowing west, then north, then northwest and finally west again before emptying 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 in the northern part of the state, near the border with Georgia.
The Withlacoochee River originates in Georgia, northwest of Nashville, Georgia. It flows south through Berrien County where it joins the New River and forms part of the boundary between Berrien and Cook counties. It then flows south into Lowndes County, Georgia. At Troupville, Georgia the Little River joins the Withlacoochee River flows continues to flow south and forms part of the boundary between Lowndes and Brooks counties in Georgia. The river then flows into Florida for 1.34 miles before returning into Georgia for an additional 2.44 miles. It then returns to Florida, forming the northeast boundary of Madison County, Florida and the western boundary of Hamilton County, Florida and eventually merges with the Suwannee at Suwannee River State Park west of Live Oak. The river is 115 miles (185 km) long. It is believed to be the source for the name of the central Florida river of the same name.
The Wekiva River is a 16.0-mile-long (25.7 km) river in Central Florida, north of Orlando in the United States. It originates in Apopka and joins the St. Johns River, the longest river in the state, in DeBary. The Wekiva River system includes the main stem joined by three main tributaries - Rock Springs Run, Blackwater Creek, and the Little Wekiva River - and about 30 contributing groundwater springs. It is designated as a Florida State Canoe Trail, an Outstanding Florida Water, and an Aquatic Preserve by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The Wekiva River system is also one of the two rivers in Florida federally designated as a National Wild and Scenic River for its scenery, recreation, geology, and diverse habitats.
The Loxahatchee River is a 7.6 mile river near the southeast coast of Florida. It is a National Wild and Scenic River, one of only two in the state, and received its federal designation on May 17, 1985. The source of the Loxahatchee River is in Riverbend Park on the south side of Indiantown Road about 1.5 miles west of I-95 and Florida's Turnpike in Jupiter, Florida. The Loxahatchee River flows out of the Jupiter Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. This river was the inspiration for Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus' 2005 project Our Signature: the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River, a film done in conjunction with the Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative.
The Matanzas State Forest is in the U.S. state of Florida. The 4,699-acre (19 km2) forest is located in northeastern Florida, near St. Augustine, though it is closer to Crescent Beach. Matanzas State Forest is bordered approximately by U.S. 1 to the west, State Road 206 to the north, the Matanzas River to the east, and the Faver-Dykes State Park to the south.
The Silver River is a short spring-fed river located east of Ocala in Marion County, Florida. Fed by Silver Springs, it connects the springs to the Ocklawaha River, passing through a pristine woodland environment. The river was probably named for its silvery appearance.
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.
Watson Island State Forest is located in St. Johns County, Florida. The state forest includes 199 acres of Bottomland Forest, 129 acres of Wet Flatwoods, 124 acres of Mesic Flatwoods, 26 acres of floodplain, 23 acres of Baygall forest, 2 acres of Floodplain Marsh, 2 acres of ruderal and 1 acre of dome swamp.
