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 the 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, 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 is a brackish water lagoon containing saltwater from ocean inlets and freshwater from rivers, creeks, and canals.

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

• 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.

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

• Indian River lagoon was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as an estuary of national significance and placed in the National Estuary Program in 1990.

• 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.

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