Indian River Facts

Indian River Quick Facts and Statistics

• Indian River spans across 5 Florida East Coast counties: Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach County. It is bounded on the west by the Florida mainland and on the east by a chain of beach barrier islands.

• Indian River was formerly named Ais River, after the indigenous people inhabiting its shores.

• The 121 mile long Indian River is the largest lagoon in the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary.

• Indian River averages 4ft in depth with large shallow flats less than 2ft deep. Man-made channels, canals, and marina basins are dredged much deeper.

• The Intracoastal Waterway, a national navigational channel through the entire Indian River estuary, is maintained at a 10-12ft depth.

• In spite of its name, the Indian River is not an actual river with a directional current, but a still water lagoon where the water's movement is from wind and some minor tidal influence near the inlets.

• Indian River lagoon has brackish water containing saltwater from ocean inlets and freshwater fed from rivers, creeks, and canals.

• Saltwater enters the Indian River lagoon through four Atlantic Ocean inlets including Sebastian, Ft. Pierce, Jupiter, and Palm Beach inlets.

• Freshwater river tributaries include Eau Gallie, St. Sebastian, St. Lucie, and Loxahatchee Rivers

• Freshwater creek tributaries include Turnbull, Addison, Crane, Turkey Creek, Goat, Kid, Trout, Crawford, and Taylor Creeks.

• Indian River was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as an Estuary of National Significance and placed in the National Estuary Program in 1990. The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program is managed by the Indian River Lagoon Council, a special district of the State of Florida.

• Management of the Indian River is divided between Florida's St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). The boundary between the two water management districts occurs roughly at the Indian River/St. Lucie County line.

• The State of Florida maintains three Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves (IRLAP):
  • Indian River - Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve, located in Brevard and Indian River Counties, is 28 miles long and covers 28,000 acres of the Indian River lagoon.
  • Indian River - Vero Beach to Ft. Pierce Aquatic Preserve, located in Indian River and St. Lucie counties, is 12 miles long and covers 11,000 acres.
  • Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve, located in St. Lucie, Martin, and northern Palm Beach counties, is 37 miles long and covers 22,000 acres.

• In 2013, more than 2,468,000 people lived in the five counties encompassing the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary.

• There are now 22 causeways and bridges crossing the Indian River.

See Also

• Indian River
• Indian River Bridges

Web Links

• FDEP - Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve
• FDEP - Indian River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve

Documents

• FDEP - Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves System 2016 (PDF 262pp 25MB)
• FDEP - North IRL Basin Management Action Plan 2013 (PDF 117pp 2.4MB)
• Indian River Lagoon - An Introduction to a National Treasure (PDF 40pp 4.09MB)

References