Indian River Lagoon

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The Indian River Lagoon is a series of lagoons and inlets making up a portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the U.S. state of Florida. Its full length extends from Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County, Florida to Jupiter Inlet in Martin County, Florida, and includes Cape Canaveral.

The Indian River Lagoon is North America’s most diverse estuary with more than 2,200 different species of animals and 2,100 species of plants. The Lagoon varies in width from ½ mile to 5 miles and averages only 3 feet in depth. It serves as a spawning and nursery ground for many different species of oceanic and lagoon fish and shellfish. The lagoon also has one of the most diverse bird populations anywhere in America. Nearly 1/3 of the nation’s manatee population lives here or migrates through the Lagoon seasonally. In addition, its ocean beaches provide one of the densest sea turtle nesting areas found in the Western Hemisphere.

Aerial view of Indian River Lagoon

Portions of the Lagoon, from north to south:

Mosquito Lagoon, from Ponce de Leon Inlet to the north end of Merritt Island, connected to Indian River by Haulover Canal.
Indian River, the main body of water, from the north border between Volusia and Brevard Counties along the western shore of Merritt Island, southward to St. Lucie Inlet.
Banana River, an offshoot of the Indian River, northward making up the eastern shore of Merritt Island.
Hobe Sound, the portion of the lagoon from St. Lucie Inlet to Jupiter Inlet.

It was originally named Rio de Ais after the Ais Indian tribe, who lived along the east coast of Florida.

The diversity of the lagoon draws millions of boaters and fishermen annually, which brings tens of millions of dollars to Florida. Red Drum, Spotted Sea Trout, Common Snook, and the formidable Tarpon are the main gamefish sought by anglers in the lagoon system.

Recently concerns have been raised as to the future of the lagoon system, expecially in the southern half where frequent freshwater discharges seriously threaten water quality (decreasing the salinity needed by many fish species) and contribute to large algea blooms (water heavily saturated with plant fertilizers promote the algea blooms). Lake Okeechobee is connected to the lagoon by the Okeechobee Waterway, meeting in Palm City.

References

[Hernandez Trail History]

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