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.
• Mosquito, Banana River, and Indian River brackish water lagoons are the main water bodies in the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary.
• Five saltwater Atlantic Ocean inlets connect to the national estuary: Ponce de Leon, Sebastian, Ft. Pierce, St. Lucie, and Jupiter inlets. 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 are found in the national estuary.
• The national estuary contains 27% of eastern Florida’s coastal salt marshes.
• 46% of the seagrass coverage maximum measured in 2007 remains in 2020. Seagrass is considered to be the estuary's keystone indicator species when evaluating water quality.
• 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