Crooked River is a waterway in

Franklin County, Florida Franklin County is a County (United States), county along the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle, panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,451, making it the third-leas ...

, that connects the

tidal estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Ochlockonee River The Ochlockonee River ( ) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida. Background The name is from the Hitchiti language wor ...

to a junction with the tidal Carrabelle River and the New River above the town of

Carrabelle, Florida Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. It is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,606 as of the 2020 census. History In 152 ...

. The Crooked River channel is long, while its ends are apart. The Crooked River is sometimes described as a principal tributary of the Ochlockonee River, while G.H. Dury described the Crooked River as a tidal channel connecting the Carrabelle River with the Ochlockonee River, separating St. James Island from the mainland. Segment Five (Crooked River/St. Marks Refuge) of the Florida Circumnavigational Paddling Trail runs through the length of Crooked River.

Conservation

Florida approved the purchase of 13,000 acres of

marshland In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...

along the Crooked River from

St. Joe Company The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate ...

in 2003 for $14.5 million. The preserve was meant to help protect

Florida black bear The Florida black bear (''Ursus americanus floridanus'') is a subspecies of the American black bear that has historically ranged throughout most of Florida and the southern portions of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The ...

territory. The purchased land was added to Tate’s Hell State Forest.Florida's northwestern coast awash in unique sights
January 17, 2010 Michigan Live

References

Rivers of Franklin County, Florida Rivers of Florida Tributaries of the Ochlockonee River {{FranklinCountyFL-geo-stub