Indian River Lagoon Facts

Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Facts

• The 156 mile long Indian River Lagoon National Estuary watershed covers an area of 2,284 square miles with 353 square miles of water surface area.

• The national estuary spans six Florida East Coast counties: Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach County. 71% of the national estuary lies within Brevard County.

• The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary combines ocean inlet saltwater with freshwater rivers and creeks into three main brackish water bodys named the Mosquito, Banana River, and Indian River lagoons.

• Regardless of name, the estuary's main water bodys are not actual rivers with a directional current, they are still water lagoons whose only movement is provided by wind and some minor tidal influence around the inlets.

• Five saltwater Atlantic Ocean inlets including Ponce de Leon, Sebastian, Ft. Pierce, St. Lucie, and Jupiter inlets are within the Indian River Lagoon estuary. Ponce de Leon and Jupiter are natural inlets, the other three are man-made cuts through the barrier island.

• Major freshwater tributaries feeding the Indian River Lagoon include the Eau Gallie, St. Sebastian, St. Lucie, and Loxahatchee rivers.

• The national estuary has a 4ft average depth with large shallow flats under 2ft deep. Dredged channels, basins, and canals are deeper. The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) channel is maintained at an average 10-12ft depth by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

• 2,100 plant and 2,200 animal species have been found within the national estuary.

• The national estuary contains 27% of eastern Florida’s coastal salt marshes.

• Only 46% of the 2007 maximum seagrass coverage remains in 2020. Seagrass is considered to be the estuary's keystone water quality indicator species.

• The Indian River Lagoon fishery generates $30 million in revenues, providing 50% of the annual fish harvest on Florida's East Coast.

See Also

• Banana River Facts
• Indian River Facts
• Mosquito Lagoon Facts

Documents

• Harbor Branch - IRL Facts and Figures (PDF 2pp)
• Indian River Lagoon - An Introduction to a National Treasure (PDF 40pp 4.09MB)

References