St. Johns River

The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida, flowing 310 miles north from its headwaters at Blue Cypress Lake in Indian River County to its mouth where it empties in to the Atlantic Ocean east of Jacksonville. Contrary to what some might think, the fact that our river flows north is not very unusual. Water flows in the path of least resistance – there are rivers and tributaries all over the world that flow east, west, north, and south. The St. Johns flows north because its headwaters are a mere 27 feet higher in elevation than where it ends – dropping approximately one inch per mile over the course of 310 miles. This slow drop in elevation makes it one of the “laziest” rivers in the world. Nearly 16% of the state, the St. Johns River watershed covers an area of nearly 9,000 square miles and is home to over five million people. The Timucua Native Americans named the river we know as the St. Johns, Welaka, or river of lakes, because there are so many lakes (nearly 3,500!) found in the watershed.