Econlockhatchee River

The Econlockhatchee River (Econ River for short) is an 54.5-mile-long (87.7 km)[4] north-flowing blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River. The Econ River flows through Osceola, Orange, and Seminole counties in Central Florida, just east of the Orlando Metropolitan Area (east of State Road 417). It is a designated Outstanding Florida Waters.[3]

Econlockhatchee River
Econ River
Econlockhatchee River from the Florida Trail bridge
Etymology"Rivers of mounds"
Location
CountryUnited States
LocationCentral Florida
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationLake Conlin
north of Holopaw
 • coordinates28°14′29″N 81°6′31″W
 • elevation92 feet (28 m)[1]
Mouth 
 • location
St. Johns River
near Puzzle Lake
 • coordinates
28°42′13″N 81°1′42″W
 • elevation
3 feet (0.91 m)[2]
Length54.5 miles (87.7 km)
Basin size173,143 acres (700.68 km2)[3]
Basin features
ProgressionEcolockhatchee - Saint Johns River - Atlantic Ocean
River systemSaint Johns River
Tributaries 
 • leftDisston Canal, Turkey Creek, Little Econlockhatchee River

The origin of the river's name is not known definitively. In 1839 the spelling was recorded as “Econ-like Hatchee”. It is theorized that this represents a Muscogee name meaning “earth-mound stream”, with “econ-like” coming from ēkvnv (/iːkaná/), ‘earth, land’, and like (/léyki/), ‘sitting’, plus hvcce (/háčči/), ‘stream’.[5]

The river flows north from its source, Lake Conlin, through the Econlockhatchee River Swamp (see below) south of State Road 528. Near the City of Oviedo, the tributary Little Econlockhatchee River joins, and the river turns east as it flows through the Little Big Econ State Forest. The Econlockhatchee joins the St. Johns River near Puzzle Lake. The river's floodplain is forested for its entire length.

Econlockhatchee River Swamp

The upper course of the river is called the Econlockhatchee River Swamp. Located southeast of Orlando, the swamp is 21 kilometres (13 mi) long, from Lake Conlin to State Road 528. South of State Road 532, the swamp is known as Cat Island Swamp, named after an island near County Road 500A. The river is at its widest (1.6 km) here, bordered by Lake Preston to the west. Seven miles downstream, the river's elevation is 19 metres (62 ft). The Disston Canal joins Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart to the swamp. Turkey Creek Bay is an arm of the swamp, through which the tributary Turkey Creek flows. North of Wewahootee Road, the Econlockhatchee River leaves the swamp and remains a free-flowing river for the rest of its journey to the St. Johns River.

List of crossings
Bridge Route Location Coordinates
Snow Hill Road Oviedo 28°40′40″N 81°06′50″W
County Road 419 Oviedo 28°39′20″N 81°10′12″W
County Road 420 Orlando
State Road 50 Bithlo 28°33′55″N 81°09′16″W
State Road 528
near Dallas Boulevard		 Orlando 28°27′05″N 81°06′28″W
Wewahootee Road Orlando 28°25′29″N 81°07′09″W
County Road 532 Holopaw 28°16′31″N 81°06′33″W

River views

Fauna

See also

References
  1. "Holopaw Topo Map at Lat 28.243°N Long -81.1076°W Zoom 15 S Size". Trails.com. Retrieved on 2014-08-04.
  2. "Geneva Topo Map at Lat 28.7035°N Long -81.028°W Zoom 15 S Size". Trails.com. Retrieved on 2014-08-04.
  3. (2013-01-02). "Econlockhatchee River". Saint Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2014-08-04.
  4. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 21, 2011
  5. Bright, Bright (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.
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