The Myakka River is a river in southwestern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It arises near the Hardee-

Manatee Manatees (, family (biology), family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivory, herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing t ...

county line and flows southwest and then southeast through Manatee,

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

and Charlotte counties to Charlotte Harbor, an arm of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. The river is long and has a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of 602 square miles (1559.2 km²), of which lies in Sarasota county. The last of the river is

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

. The Myakka River remains relatively undeveloped. A stretch of the river is preserved in

Myakka River State Park Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of , making it one of the state's l ...

. A portion of the river in Sarasota County (including all of the park) was designated as a state ''Wild and Scenic River'' in 1985 by the Florida Legislature. Portions of the ancient water basin, however, have been altered by canals. In 2022, the river flooding during

Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian was a devastating tropical cyclone which was the third costliest natural disaster, weather disaster on record worldwide. It was also the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and ...

resulted in the temporary closing of 14 miles of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

near Port Charlotte.Meg Kinnard, Adriana Gomez Licon, ''et al''. (1 October 2022). "Dozens dead from Ian, one of strongest, costliest US storms"
AP website
Retrieved 1 October 2022.

Tributaries

Myakkahatchee Creek Myakkahatchee Creek is a small stream located near the city of North Port in Sarasota County, Florida. It is fed by Big Slough, and it is a tributary of the Myakka River The Myakka River is a river in southwestern Florida. It arises near t ...

References

* Dorsey, Tim and Barry, Rick. 1990. Myakka River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. ''The Rivers of Florida''. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. . Rivers of Charlotte County, Florida Rivers of Manatee County, Florida Rivers of Florida Rivers of Sarasota County, Florida Outstanding Florida Waters {{Florida-river-stub

Tributaries

See also

References