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St. Joseph Bay is a
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...
on the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...
of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
. The bay is located in Gulf County between Apalachicola and
Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...
.
Port St. Joe Port St. Joe is a city located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71 and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 3,357. This was a decline from 3,644 as of the 2000 census. Histo ...
is located on St. Joseph Bay. St. Joseph Bay is bounded on the east by the mainland, on the south by Cape San Blas, and on the west by the St. Joseph Peninsula. The north end of the bay is a relatively narrow opening to the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) 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 ...
. The bay is approximately long north to south and wide at its widest point. The waters of St. Joseph Bay contain the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve and the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve. The St. Joseph Peninsula forms the
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is a Florida State Park on the St. Joseph Peninsula near Port St. Joe. It is located off U.S. 98. Recreational activities The park has such amenities as beaches, picnicking areas, cabins, ...
.


History

The Spanish established
Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
Bahía San José de Valladares on St. Joseph Bay in 1701. The French established Fort Crevecoeur on the shores of St. Joseph Bay opposite St. Joseph Point, the northern end of the St. Joseph Peninsula, in 1717, and captured the Presidio Bahía San José de Valladares the next year. Under pressure from Spain, the French then abandoned Fort Crevecoeur. The Spanish established the Presidio Bahía San José de Nueva Asturias on St. Joseph Point in 1719, but abandoned it in 1722. The boom town of St. Joseph was founded on the shores of St. Joseph Bay in 1835. The town briefly prospered, but a yellow fever epidemic in 1841 drove most of the residents away and the town was soon abandoned. The St. Joseph Bay Light was established on St. Joseph Point in 1838, to serve the new town's port. The light was discontinued in 1847, after the town had been abandoned, and the unused tower was destroyed in a storm in 1851. A new lighthouse, the St. Joseph Light Range Station, was constructed in 1902 on the mainland across from St. Joseph Point, at Beacon Hill. A new town,
Port St. Joe Port St. Joe is a city located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71 and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 3,357. This was a decline from 3,644 as of the 2000 census. Histo ...
, was founded a couple of miles north of the site of the old town of St. Joseph around 1910, when the
Apalachicola Northern Railroad The Apalachicola Northern Railroad was a short-line railroad which operated in the Florida Panhandle. It owned and operated a between Port Saint Joe, Florida, and Chattahoochee, Florida, with a short spur to Apalachicola, Florida. It was found ...
built a branch line to the Bay.


Wildlife

St. Joseph Bay is known in the area for its abundant
scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
habitats. Open-harvest season for bay scallops along Florida's Gulf coast typically runs from July 1 through September 24.


References

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Scalloping {{Authority control Bodies of water of Gulf County, Florida Bays of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico