Choctawhatchee Bay

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Surface Area
334.00km2
Drainage Area
14000.00km2
Average Daily Freshwater Inflow
240.69m3/s
Average Depth
5.00m
Average Salinity
25.00
Coastal Wetlands
1133.12km2
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
12.14km2

From: USEPA, 1999; Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), 2002; Florida DEP, 2003
Florida's Choctawhatchee Bay is located just east of Pensacola Bay on the western end of the Florida panhandle. Freshwater flow to the bay comes from the13,856 sq. km watershed which includes the Choctawhatchee River, Pea River, Wrights Creek, Sandy Creek, Pine Log, Seven Run, Holmes Creek and Bruce Creeks (CBA, 2002). The bay is separated from the Gulf of Mexico along most of its length, but connects through the Pensacola and East passes entering through the south at Destin Pass.

The bay system is fringed by forested wetlands and also characterized by marshes and patches of oyster beds. The system supports the endangered Okaloosa darter (Etheostoma okaloosae). Numerous fish, birds and wildlife make the Choctawhatchee Bay their home.

References

  • USEPA. 1999. Ecological condition of estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. EPA 620-R-98-004. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, Gulf Breeze, Florida. 80 pp.

  • Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA). 2002. Choctawhatchee Bay. Located on the web at: http://www.basinalliance.org/

  • Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Florida DEP). Located on the web at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/northwest/rocky/info.htm

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