Chipola River

The Chipola River's headwaters are in Houston County, Alabama. The river itself is formed by the junction of Marshall Creek and Cowarts Creek in northern Jackson County, Florida. The 92.5-mile-long (148.9 km) river passes through Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna, where it briefly becomes an underground river, and continues southward through the Dougherty Karst Plain^[a] in Jackson County, Calhoun County, and the northern half of Gulf County before joining the Apalachicola River.^[2][3] The watershed for the river covers about 1,287 square miles (3,330 km²).^[4]

Tributaries of the Chipola River, in addition to Marshall Creek and Cowarts Creek, include Waddells Mill Creek, Merritts Mill Pond^[5], Dry Creek, Rocky Creek, Mill Creek, Fourmile Creek, and Juniper Creek. The river is fed by more than 60 springs, including the 1st magnitude Jackson Blue Spring^[b] and several 2nd magnitude springs.

An 8-mile-long (13 km) natural impoundment of the Chippola River near Wewahitchka in southern Calhoun County and northern Gulf County is known as Dead Lake or Dead Lakes.^[7] Dead Lake is impounded by a levee created by the Apalachicola River across the mouth of the Chipola. The junction of the Chipola with the Apalachicola was originally just below the lower end of Dead Lake. The Apalachicola carries a much heavier sediment load than the Chipola, and deposits of that sediment raised the bed and banks of the Apalachicola above those of the Chipola at their junction. The bottom of Dead Lake is 1.5 to 3 metres (4 ft 11 in to 9 ft 10 in) lower that the bottom of the adjacent section of the Apalachicola, and the basin for the lake is up to 7.6 metres (25 ft) lower than the Apalachicola's floodplain. The Apalachicola subsequently shifted most of its flow eastward to a new channel, leaving the old channel as a distributary, called the Chipola Cutoff, joining the Chipola River just below Dead Lake.^[8]

The river flows through what is now preserved as the Dead Lakes State Recreation Area just before reaching its mouth at the confluence with the Apalachicola. The Dead Lakes were formed when the Apalachicola deposited sand bars blocking the mouth of the Chipola.^{[citation needed]}

The Chipola River flows for several miles south from the Dead Lakes, parallel to the Apalachicola River, before reaching its confluence with the larger river.^{[citation needed]}

The Floridan Aquifer underlies the Dougherty Karst Plain, and is recharged from surface water as well as discharging to springs and rivers on the plain. In Jackson and northern Calhoun counties the Floridan Aquifer is relatively thin at 100 feet (30 m), consisting of Ocala Limestone. The aquifer thickens to the south, reaching about 700 feet (210 m) thickness, with the younger Marianna, Suwannee, and Chattahoochee formations above the Ocala Limstone. The top of the Floridan Aquifer along the Chipola River is about 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) above sea level, and rocks of the formations making up the aquifer are often exposed in the bed of the river. The potentiometric surface of the aquifer is close to the ground level of the river's floodplain, indicating that water from the aquiver also contributes directly to the river's flow.^[9]

The Northwest Florida Water Management District has divided all but the northernmost part of the Chipola watershed into basins and sub-basins for the purposes of studying water quality, water supply, and natural aquatic habitat area. The Merritts Millpond-Chipola River basin, which includes Greenwood, parts of Jacob and Cottondale, and much of Marianna, is divided into the Waddells Mill Creek, Hayes Spring Run, Muddy Branch-Chipola River, Carters Mill Branch, and Merritts Millpond sub-basins, and has significant areas of water affected by pollution and algal mats and large numbers of assets subject to flooding. The Mill Creek-Chipola River basin, which includes Alford, the northern part of Altha, and the southern parts of Cottondale and Marianna, is divided into the Sapp Bay, Stump Creek, Upper Dry Creek-Chipola River, Lower Dry Creek-Chipola River, Foxworth Mill Creek, Dougls Pond, Rocky Creek-Chipola River, and Mill Creek-Chipola River sub-basins, and has limited areas of water affected by pollution and algal mats and a moderate number of assets subject to flooding.^[10]

The Chipola River-Tenmile Creek basin includes the southern part of Altha and is divided into the Upper Tenmile Creek, Lower Tenmile Creek, Fourmile Creek-Chipola River, Davis Creek, and Juniper Creek-Chipola River sub-basins and has significant areas of water impaired by bacteria and a moderate number of assets subject to flooding. The Dead Lakes basin includes Wewahitchka and is divided into the Old Camp Four Swamp, Cypress Creek-Dead Lakes, Upper Dead Lakes, Lower Dead Lakes, Weat Arm of the Dead Lakes, and Douglas Slough sub-basins, and has moderate areas of water affected by pollution and algal mats and a moderate number of assets subject to flooding. It is also at risk of storm surges.^[10]

A survey of springs in the Chipola River basin conducted in 2002/2003 identified 63 springs, all fed from the Floridan Aquifer in the Dougherty Karst District. Many of the springs are in or adjacent to the river bed, and are difficult to locate when flow rates are low. The Jackson Blue Spring is rated as a first-magnitude spring, nine springs are rated as second-magnitude, seven as third-magnitude, and five as fourth-magnitude. The outflow of some springs cannot be measured because they discharge directly into flow of the Chipola or one of its tributaries. Most of the flow of the Chipola River ^[11]

The Chacato people lived in the upper Chipola valley when Spanish missionaries first reached the neighboring Apalachee Province in the 1630s. Two missions, San Carlos Borromeo and San Nicolás de Tolentino, were established in Chacato territory in present-day Jackson County in 1674, but were abandoned the next year after part of the Chacato people rebelled against the missionaries and then moved westward, and others sought refuge in Apalacheee Province.^[12]

Most of the banks of the Chipola River are covered by second-growth forest consisting of Carolina ash, maples, oaks, magnolias, dogwoods, and water tupelos. Invertebrates include the endemic and endangered Chipola slabshell, Dougherty Plain cave crayfish, and many freshwater snails. Fish found in the Chipola River include the shoal bass, red-breasted sunfish, redear sunfish, bluegill, spotted sunfish, blacktail shiner, coastal shiner, weed shiner, and clear chub. Other animals include the Georgia blind salamander, Barbour's map turtle, rainbow snake, brown water snake, and banded water snake.^[13]

The 52-mile-long (84 km) long Chipola River Paddling Trail runs from Florida Caverns State Park South to Scotts Ferry in Calhoun County. Several sections of the river may include fast water and moderate rapids, depending on the stage of the river. One notable section is Look and Tremble Falls.^[13][14]

The Hinson Conservation and Recreation Area in Marianna abuts the Chipola River.^[15]

The Chipola River Wildlife Management Area or Chipola River Water Management Area consist of two tracts. The Jackson County tract includes land along Marshall Creek and Cowarts Creek and along the Chipola River from its origin at the junction of those Creeks to the northern boundary of Florida Caverns State Park. The Upper Chipola Recreational Trail system is located in the tract. The Altha tract is in Calhoun County. Both tracts have very limited access by road. Recreational opportunities in both tracts of the management area include hunting, fishing, boating, paddling, pickicking, hiking, primitive camping and wildlife viewing.^[16][17]

• Outstanding Florida Waters