The Pithlachascotee River, often called the Cotee or "Cootie" River, is a

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of River#Classification, river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial ...

Pasco County, Florida Pasco County is a County (United States), county located on the west central coast in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2024, the population of the county is 656,851, making it the tenth-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Dade ...

. Originating near Crews Lake, the river flows for over U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed April 18, 2011 to the south and west, flowing through the

Starkey Wilderness Park Starkey Wilderness Preserve is a public recreation and nature conservation area located in Pasco County, Florida. The park includes a system of hiking, bicycling, and equestrian trails, cabins and primitive camping sites, and picnic areas. It is ...

before turning northwest through downtown

New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History ...

, entering 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 ...

at Miller's Bayou. A Florida State

Canoe Trail Water trails (also known as blueways) are marked routes on navigable waterway such as rivers, lakes, canals, and coastlines for recreational use. They allow access to waterways for non-motorized boats and sometimes motorized vessels, inner tubes, ...

runs along the river. On a chart representing the west coast of Florida accompanying the annual report of the U.S. Coast Survey for 1851, the name is translated as "Boat Building River". The whole word signifies the place where canoes were chopped or dug out. The

Seminole 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, ...

used canoes dug out of cypress trunks. It is derived from the

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

''pithlo'' (canoe), and ''chaskita'' (to chop out).

List of crossings

References

FDOT Florida Bridge Data 01-05-2010USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 02310300 PITHLACHASCOTEE RIVER NEAR NEW PORT RICHEY FL

External links

SWFWMD: Pithlachascotee River

FDEP EcoSummary: Pithlachascotee River

Rivers of Florida Bodies of water of Pasco County, Florida {{PascoCountyFL-geo-stub