The Charlotte River (also Macaco River) is a former name for what was thought to be a continuous river draining
Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee ( ) is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the List of largest lakes of the United States by area, eighth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest ...
(formerly Lake Macaco) into
Charlotte Harbor. Although an 1842 map indicates that the Charlotte was the same as the
Caloosahatchee River
The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National ...
, other sources distinguish the two from each other. Most maps that include the river show it following what is now known as
Shell Creek east from the
Peace River
The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...
and splitting into multiple branches, with the south branch receiving water from Lake Macaco, a north or northeast branch, and a central branch labeled as Lost Creek. The most prominent actual waterway near the east half of the supposed Charlotte River is
Fisheating Creek
Fisheating Creek is a stream that flows into Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It is the only remaining free-flowing water course feeding into the lake, and the second-largest natural source for the lake. Most of the land surrounding the stream is eithe ...
The border between
St. Johns and
Monroe
Monroe or Monroes may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Monroe (surname)
* Monroe (given name)
* James Monroe, 5th President of the United States
* Marilyn Monroe, actress and model
Places United States
* Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
Counties was defined to follow the Charlotte River in 1823, and remained there (with various counties replacing St. Johns to the north) until it was moved south to the township line (now the
Charlotte-
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film
* ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film
* ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist
* ''L ...
border) in 1859. Most maps postdating the discovery that the Charlotte River did not exist placed the line along the Caloosahatchee River.
[ J.H. Colton & Co.]
Florida
1855
References
Rivers of Florida
Bodies of water of St. Johns County, Florida
Bodies of water of Monroe County, Florida
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