Many people don’t know how to differentiate between saltwater and freshwater.
Sometimes, we erroneously mix these two types of water.
Do you know that not every freshwater is fresh?
This is the case with the St.
Is the St.
Johns River fresh or saltwater?
St.
Johns River is a freshwater, running 310 miles long and is the longest river in Florida.
As it flows from northeast Florida to the Atlantic Ocean, it flows across 12 counties.
The river is about 3 miles wide at its widest point.
Is the St. Johns River fresh or saltwater?
St.
Johns River is fresh , not saltwater .
It offers you a fresh source of water.
From its source, it is a network of marshes, but as it flows along its course, it becomes a blackwater stream.
Johns River Fresh or Saltwater?
Predominately, St.
Johns River is fresh water because of the groundwater and marsh it has at its source, but as it gets to the area around Jacksonville, it turns brackish.
Along its course, the river separated into three river basins and two watersheds.
Its Upper Basin is about 2,000 square miles, but the Lower Basin is the longest, about 2,600 square miles.
Owing to its big size, about 16,000,000 tons of freight are transported through it every year through the ports in Jacksonville.
St. Johns River Flows North
Most rivers all over the world flow to the south from the north.
This is because of their sources, which are mostly from mountains in the north, making the water flow downward.
However, it is on record that not less than 30 rivers in America do not flow this way, and St.
John’s river is one of them.
These rivers flow northward instead.
Starting from Saint John’s Marsh, St.
John’s River flow at a very low speed, sloping 30 feet to its source and joining the Atlantic Ocean.
The river became a very slow one because of this slight slope.
It is the slowest river in the world.
The River is Connected
The population of people living around the various watersheds that joined St.
Johns River is about 3.5 million.
St.
Johns River is the largest water body in the St.
Johns River Water Management District, cutting across about 21 percent of Florida and covering about 7.8 million acres of land.
St. Johns River Has a Salty Side
There is a network of marshes at the source of the St.
Johns River, but along the line the water became blackwater.
This is to tell you that the river was predominately fresh water from its beginning because of the groundwater and marsh there.
The water was clean until it go to the Jacksonville area from where it became brackish.
This is a result of seawater from the sides that joined it.
This created an estuarine ecosystem in that area, making it a perfect home for marine animals likes dolphins and sharks.
You Can Find Monkeys
Many Monkeys have made the St.
Johns River meeting point and the Wekiva River their habitat.
Rhesus Monkeys are monkeys with outstanding swimming skills, but their origin is not yet known.
There have been many speculations.
Some people think that the monkeys came into the area during the Tarzan filming in the 1930s.
Anyways, they have made St.
Johns River in Florida their home.
Is it safe to eat fish from the St. Johns River?
No, you must not eat fish from the St.
Johns River.
The Health Department has come up with a “Do Not Eat Fish” warning to the people living around the St.
Johns River.
The river includes those north of the Route 115 Bridge or Mathews Bridge to south of E 21 St, which is upstream of the Site to the Center Point Terminal.
Many kinds of recreational fishery activities go on in the lower basin of the river.
You will see significant fisheries for freshwater, estuarine or saltwater fish at various river sections.
The popular saltwater species of fish you will see in St.
Johns River are red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, and sheepshead.
Fishing Rivers and Streams
If you want a fulfilled fishing trip, you must know and understand the things inside the water.
You do not see fish everywhere on the surface of the water.
The water’s depth, the current’s strength, and where they can find cover in the water affect where you find fish in the water.
That means you will only catch a casual fish if you go fishing.
Understanding the water will tell you which fish strays in which place.
Rivers do not flow in a straight line most time.
There are many twists and turns in the St.
Johns River, and these spots have features of interest.
For instance, if the bend is to the left, the depth of the water near the shore on the right side or outside the bend is always very deep.
This is so because the water current washes up sediments from the bottom of the river, thereby creating a bowl or hole at the bottom.
The water current will also wash away the outside shoreline, creating an undercut bank in some places.
If the water current uproots some trees on the shoreline, you will see some submerged structures.
However, if the sediments are washed downstream, they will collect on the left side or inside the bend, forming a shallow sand or mud bar.
With time this shallow sand will get shallower.
FAQs
Are there blue crabs in the St. Johns River?
Yes!
The St.
John’s River, which is close to Green Cove Springs, is one of the places you can catch crabs for eating.
What crabs are in the St Johns River?
The most common invertebrates in our rivers are Blue crabs, the biggest fishery within the St.
Johns River.
Do I need a license to catch blue crabs in Florida?
If a ship should be installed with a trap puller, it is qualified to be called a commercial vessel and requires the appropriate operational license.
You can only pull traps during the day.
However, you should make your research before you think of catching blue crabs in the Sunshine State.
