Santa Rosa Sound

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Santa Rosa Sound is a sound connecting Pensacola Bay and Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida. The northern shore consists of the Fairpoint Peninsula and portions of the mainland in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. It is bounded to the south by Santa Rosa Island (also known as Okaloosa Island in the easternmost region of the sound), separating it from the Gulf of Mexico.

Sound (geography) A long, relatively wide body of water, connecting two larger bodies of water

In geography, a sound is a large sea or ocean inlet, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land.

Pensacola Bay A bay in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle

Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.

Choctawhatchee Bay

Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, has a surface area of 129 mi2 (334 km2). It is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, connected to it through East Pass. It also connects to Santa Rosa Sound in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to the west and to St. Andrews Bay in Bay County to the east, via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. East Pass is the only outlet of the bay flowing directly into the Gulf of Mexico. The Choctawhatchee River flows into it, as do several smaller rivers and streams. The Mid-Bay Bridge crosses the bay, connecting the city of Destin to Niceville, Florida.

Contents

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Pensacola Beach and Fort Walton Beach is routed through the sound.

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1,050 mi (1,690 km) from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.

Pensacola Beach, Florida Unincorporated Community in Florida, United States

Pensacola Beach is an unincorporated community located on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is situated south of Pensacola in the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 2,738. Pensacola Beach occupies land bound by a 1947 deed from the United States Department of Interior that it be administered in the public interest by the county or leased, but never "disposed"; its businesses and residents are thus long-term leaseholders and not property owners.

Fort Walton Beach, Florida City in Florida

Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach−Crestview−Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Communities located along Santa Rosa Sound

Gulf Breeze, Florida City in Florida, United States


Gulf Breeze is a city on the Fairpoint Peninsula in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States and is a suburb of Pensacola which lies to the north, across Pensacola Bay. The population was 5,763 at the 2010 census and by July 2016, that had increased to an estimated 6,466.

Navarre, Florida Census Designated Place in Florida, United States

Navarre is a Census-designated place and unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a bedroom community for mostly U.S. Military personnel, Federal Civil Servants, local population, retirees and defense contractors. Due to its proximity to Navarre Beach and its four miles of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico, not including the Navarre Beach Marine Park, as well as the Gulf Islands National Seashore, it has a small, but growing community of nature enthusiasts and tourists.

Bridges crossing Santa Rosa Sound

Pensacola Beach Bridge. Pensacolabeachbridge.jpg
Pensacola Beach Bridge.

Three bridges carry pedestrian and automobile traffic to the barrier islands on the south side of the sound. The first two bridges have the lowest clearance of any span over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. For this reason, many sailboats with masts taller than 50 feet must "go outside" and bypass the protected sound using the unprotected waters of the Gulf of Mexico.[ citation needed ]

Sailboat boat propelled partly or entirely by sails

A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.

Gulf of Mexico An ocean basin and marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent

The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida border the Gulf on the north, which are often referred to as the "Third Coast", in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

The bridges crossing Santa Rosa Sound, including the names of communities on both sides of the bridge (mainland side, followed by island side) and center span clearances above mean sea level, are:

Brooks Bridge bridge in United States of America

The Brooks Bridge is a four-lane steel and concrete structure that carries highway U.S. Route 98 (US 98) over Santa Rosa Sound just west of the Choctawhatchee Bay between downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida and the 3-mile-long (4.8 km) section of Okaloosa Island controlled by the city of Fort Walton Beach. It is named for John Thomas Brooks, who, in 1868, purchased 111 acres of what is now downtown Fort Walton Beach. The area on the north side of the sound where the bridge connects was known as Brooks Landing. It has a charted clearance of 50 feet (15 m) above the water.

Okaloosa Island is an area on Santa Rosa Island, Florida.

See also

Coordinates: 30°24′07″N86°46′37″W / 30.4019171°N 86.7768273°W / 30.4019171; -86.7768273 .

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The Fairpoint Peninsula is located in Northwest Florida between Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay.

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