St. Marks River

St. Marks River
St. Marks River viewed from U.S. Highway 98.
Country	United States
State	Florida
Counties	Leon, Jefferson, Wakulla
District	NWFWMD
Tributaries
- left	East River
- right	Lafayette Creek, Wakulla River
Source	Tallahassee Hills
- location	Capitola, Florida
- coordinates
Mouth	Apalachee Bay
- location	Port Leon, Florida
- coordinates
Length	36 mi (58 km)
Basin	1,150 sq mi (2,978 km2)
Discharge
- average	1,122 cu ft/s (32 m3/s)
St. Marks River watershed St. Marks River watershed

The St. Marks River is a river in the Big Bend region of Florida. It has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as an Outstanding Florida Water, and is the easternmost river within the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

The St. Marks River begins in eastern Leon County, Florida and flows 36 miles (58 km) through Leon and Wakulla counties into Apalachee Bay, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. It has a drainage basin of 1,150 square miles (3,000 km²) in size. It has one significant tributary, the Wakulla River.

A few miles south of its source the St. Marks passes under a natural bridge at Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park and then disappears underground to become a subterranean river for about one-half mile. The river emerges at the St. Marks River Rise, a first magnitude spring with a discharge of 433cf/s, to pass over a stretch of rocks, forming rapids.

The incorporated town of St. Marks is located at the juncture of the Wakulla and St. Marks Rivers. To the north is the community of Newport. Between St. Marks and Newport is a small industrial area serviced by barge.

The San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park and St. Marks lighthouse are located near the mouth of the river, while the City of Tallahassee's Sam O. Purdom Generating Plant is located on the river in St. Marks.

List of crossings

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Crossing	Carries	Image	Location	Coordinates
Headwaters
	Valentine Road		Capitola
	CR 1568 Buck Lake Road		Capitola
rail bridge	CSX Transportation		Capitola
	CR 1540 Capitola Road		Capitola
Confluence with Lafayette Creek
	US 27 Perry Highway		Chaires Crossroads
	CR 259 Tram Road		Cody
ford	private road
natural bridge	CR 2192 Natural Bridge Road		Natural Bridge Battlefield State Park
natural bridge
George Nesmith Bridge	US 98 Coastal Highway		Newport
Confluence with Wakulla River			St. Marks
Confluence with East River
Mouth

References

• Marth, Marty. 1990. St. Marks River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.
• protectingourwater.org: St. Marks River Watershed
• Emerging Waters: Springs of Northwest Florida
• St. Marks River & Apalachee Bay Watershed
• City Of Tallahassee Sam O. Purdom Generating Station