The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

that runs through south

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

southward into

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 to ...

in the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is a wild

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea ...

, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 18, 2011 The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwanee Straits that separated the panhandle from the continent.

Geography

The headwaters of the Suwannee River are in the

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

in the town of Fargo, Georgia. The river runs southwestward into the Florida Panhandle, then drops in elevation through

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

layers into a rare Florida

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

rapid. Past the rapid, the Suwanee turns west near the town of

White Springs, Florida White Springs is a town in Hamilton County, Florida, United States, on the Suwannee River. The population was 777 at the 2010 census, down from 819 at the 2000 census. Home of the annual Florida Folk Festival, it is a tourist destination noted ...

, then connects to the confluences of the Alapaha River and Withlacoochee River. The confluences of these three rivers form the southern borderline of

Hamilton County, Florida Hamilton County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,004, down from 14,799 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Jasper. History Hamilton County was crea ...

. The Suwanee then bends southward near the town of Ellaville, followed by Luraville, then joins together with the Santa Fe River from the east, south of the town of Branford. The river ends and drains into the Gulf of Mexico on the outskirts of Suwannee.

Etymology

The Spanish recorded the native

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The v ...

name of ''Guacara'' for the river that would later become known as the Suwannee''.'' Different etymologies have been suggested for the modern name. * San Juan: D.G. Brinton first suggested in his 1859 ''Notes on the Floridian Peninsula'' that Suwannee was a corruption of the Spanish San Juan. This theory is supported by Jerald Milanich, who states that "Suwannee" developed through "San Juan-ee" from the 17th century Spanish mission of San Juan de Guacara, located on the Suwannee River. * Shawnee: The migrations of the Shawnee (

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

: ''Shaawanwaki;''

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlandshawnee Suwaney being a corruption of Shawanoese." However, the primary southern Shawnee settlements were along the Savannah River, with only the village of Ephippeck on the Apalachicola River being securely identified in Florida, casting doubt on this etymology. * "Echo": In 1884, Albert S. Gatschet claimed that Suwannee derives from the Creek word ''sawani,'' meaning "echo", rejecting the earlier Shawnee theory. Stephen Boyd's 1885 ''Indian Local Names with Their Interpretation'' and Henry Gannett's 1905 work ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States'' repeat this interpretation'','' calling ''sawani'' an "Indian word" for "echo river". Gatschet's etymology also survives in more recent publications, often mistaking the language of translation. For example, a

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

website states that the "Timucuan Indian word Suwani means Echo River ... River of Reeds, Deep Water, or Crooked Black Water". In 2004,

William Bright William O. Bright (August 13, 1928 – October 15, 2006) was an American linguist and toponymist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics. Biography Bright earned a bachelor's degree in lingui ...

repeats it again, now attributing the name "Suwanee" to a Cherokee village of ''Sawani'', which is unlikely as the Cherokee never lived in Florida or south Georgia. This etymology is now considered doubtful: 2004's ''A Dictionary of Creek Muscogee'' does not include the river as a place-name derived from Muscogee, and also lacks entries for "echo" and for words such as ''svwane, sawane,'' or ''svwvne'', which would correspond to the anglicization "Suwannee"''.''

History

Lois Duncan Steinmetz gazing at the Suwannee River (8670981193)

The Suwannee River area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. During the first millennium it was inhabited by the people of the Weedon Island culture, and around the year 900 a derivative local culture known as the Suwanee River Valley culture developed. By the 16th century, the river was inhabited by two closely related Timuca-speaking peoples: the Yustaga, who lived on the west side of the river; and the Northern Utina, who lived on the east side. By 1633, the Spanish had established the missions of San Juan de Guacara, San Francisco de Chuaquin, and San Augustin de Urihica along the Suwannee to convert these western Timucua peoples. In the 18th century,

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and ...

lived by the river. The steamboat ''Madison'' operated on the river before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and the sulphur springs at White Springs became popular as a health resort, with 14 hotels in operation in the late 19th century.

Recreation

Thelma Boltin and the Bryant children fishing along the Suwannee River (7979258047)

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge is unlike other refuges in that it was not established for the protection of a specific species, but in order to protect the high water quality of the historic Suwannee River." The Suwannee River Wilderness Trail is "a connected web of Florida State Parks, preserves and wilderness areas" that stretches more than 170 miles (274 kilometers), from Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park 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

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in southeastern Dixie County, Florida, Dixie and northwestern Levy County, Florida, Levy counties on the western coast ...

offers bird and wildlife observation, wildlife photography, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and interpretive walks. Facilities include foot trails, boardwalks, paddling trails, wildlife drives, archaeological sites, observation decks and fishing piers.

Crossings

Notes

References

*Milanich, Jerald T. (2006). ''Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians.'' University Press of Florida. * *

External links

USF page with history

Suwannee River Wilderness State Trail

Info on the Suwannee River and surrounding areas from SRWMD

Suwanee River Watershed - Florida DEP
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