The St. Johns River

The St. Johns begins in south central Florida, 310 miles from Jacksonville in Indian River county. It is similar in many respects to Florida's most noted ecosystem, the Everglades. While the Everglades ecosystem begins as a river, grows into Lake Okeechobee and eventually becomes the famous river of grass, the St. Johns is the opposite. It flows north starting as a river of grass, becomes a series of lakes and ultimately a river. It is home to 174 species of birds and more than 180 species of freshwater and saltwater fish. It has supported human populations and cultures for more than 9,000 years.

The river is divided geographically into three regions: the upper basin, or the headwaters, the middle basin and the lower basin, which runs from Putnam County through Jacksonville to the Atlantic Ocean. The lower basin is sometimes called the St. Johns estuary because of the influence of its vast tidal range. It encompasses 2,750 square miles and today supports a population of more than 4.5 million people.

In Duval County, the river supports more than 19,000 jobs with an annual economic business impact of $2.2 billion. Property along the river accounts for more than $1.3 billion of the county's tax rolls.