Choctawhatchee 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 (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in the

Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, which include Pensacola Beach, Nava ...

region of the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the G ...

. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, has a surface area of . It is an inlet of 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 S ...

, connected to it through East Pass (also known as Destin Pass). It also connects to Santa Rosa Sound in

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach− Crestview− Destin Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

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 Choctawhatchee Bay, as do several smaller rivers and streams. The Mid-Bay Bridge crosses the bay, connecting the city of Destin to Niceville, Florida.

History

The bay was charted by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and English expeditions, The bay appears on some charts as "St. Rose's Bay". Following the

Treaty of Moultrie Creek The Treaty of Moultrie Creek was an agreement signed in 1823 between the government of the United States and the chiefs of several groups and bands of Indians living in the present-day state of Florida. The treaty established a reservation in the ...

, small bands of Creeks lived on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay.

Military Use

As noted in a 1993

Eglin AFB Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). Th ...

report, Test Area D-55 was originally installed in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era by

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

with "omnidirectional radar corner reflectors''"'' on top to be used as a radar target range. Test Area D-55 is formed by 25 arrays of 2,040 wood pilings placed east of the Clyde B. Wells Bridge. They are located in 8 feet of water and the array extends for 1.2 miles.

Municipalities

Several towns and cities are located around the Choctawhatchee Bay: * Fort Walton Beach * Destin *

Santa Rosa Beach Santa Rosa Beach is an unincorporated community in Walton County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Santa Rosa Beach, FL is located at 30.3960324°, ...

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

Niceville Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. The population was 11,684 at the United States Census 2000, 2000 census. ...

* Shalimar * Valparaiso

Tributaries

Below are a few of the tributary rivers and bayous that feed into the Choctawhatchee Bay.

Rivers

* Choctawhatchee River * Mitchell River * Black Creek

Bayous

LaGrange Bayou LaGrange Bayou is a bayou located in Walton County, Florida Walton County is located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the popul ...

* Alaqua Bayou * Basin Bayou *

Rocky Bayou 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 . It is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, connected to it through East Pass (also known ...

* Boggy Bayou * Cinco Bayou

Lakes

* Pippin Lake * Jack Lake * Lower Memorial Lake * Bens Lake * Lake Lorraine * Lake Vivian * Lake Clyde * Lake Earl

References

Bays of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Bodies of water of Okaloosa County, Florida Bodies of water of Walton County, Florida {{WaltonCountyFL-geo-stub