Choctawhatchee Bay
| Choctawhatchee Bay | |
|---|---|
 Satellite image of the Choctawhatchee Bay | |
  Choctawhatchee Bay | |
| Coordinates | 30°26′22″N 86°18′40″W / 30.43944°N 86.31111°W |
| Primary inflows | Choctawhatchee River |
| Primary outflows | Gulf of Mexico, Santa Rosa Sound |
| Catchment area | 5,405 square miles (14,000 km2) |
| Max. length | 27 miles (43 km)[1] |
| Max. width | 6 miles (9.7 km) |
| Surface area | 129 square miles (330 km2) |
| Max. depth | 43 feet (13 m) |
| Settlements | Fort Walton Beach, Destin Santa Rosa Beach, Freeport, Niceville, Shalimar, Valparaiso |
Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico and has a surface area of 334 square kilometres (129 sq mi).[2] It connects to Santa Rosa Sound in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to the west and to St. Andrews Bay in Bay County to the east, via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. East Pass (also known as Destin Pass) is the only outlet of the bay flowing directly into the Gulf of Mexico, and is crossed by US 98.[3] The Choctawhatchee River flows into the bay, as do several smaller rivers and streams.[2][4] The tolled Mid-Bay Bridge (SR 293) crosses the bay, connecting the city of Destin to Niceville, Florida. The Judge Clyde B. Wells Bridge (US 331) crosses the eastern part of the bay, connecting Freeport to the coast.[5]
History
[edit]
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
The bay was charted by Spanish, French, and English expeditions, The bay appears on some charts as "St. Rose's Bay".[6][7]
Following the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, small bands of Creeks lived on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay.[8]
At the beginning of the 1900s, Choctawhatchee Bay was mainly freshwater and had a small channel to the Gulf of Mexico. During a storm in 1929, the bay's water level increased and threatened homes on the bay with flooding. Locals dug a small trench near Destin to release the water, which quickly eroded into a large channel, creating today's large Destin's Pass or East Pass. The larger channel increased the bay's salinity, significantly changing its ecosystem.[9]
Military use
[edit]As noted in a 1993 Eglin AFB report, Test Area D-55 was originally installed in the World War II era by Eglin Air Force Base with "omnidirectional radar corner reflectors" on top to be used as a radar target range.[10] Test Area D-55 is formed by 25 arrays of 2,040 wood pilings placed east of the Clyde B. Wells Bridge. They are located in 8 feet of water and the array extends for 1.2 miles.
Municipalities
[edit]Several towns and cities are located around the Choctawhatchee Bay:
Tributaries
[edit]Below are a few of the tributary rivers and bayous that feed into the Choctawhatchee Bay.
Rivers
[edit]- Choctawhatchee River
- Mitchell River
- Black Creek
Bayous
[edit]- LaGrange Bayou
- Alaqua Bayou
- Basin Bayou
- Rocky Bayou
- Boggy Bayou
- Cinco Bayou
Lakes
[edit]- Pippin Lake
- Jack Lake
- Lower Memorial Lake
- Bens Lake
- Lake Lorraine
- Lake Vivian
- Lake Clyde
- Lake Earl
References
[edit]- ^ Ruth, Barbara; Handley, Lawrence R. (2006). "Choctawhatchee Bay" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "GulfBase - Choctawhatchee Bay". Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
- ^ "EAST PASS INLET MANAGEMENT STUDY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION" (PDF). Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2006. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
- ^ "Choctawhatchee Info - HISTORICAL". Retrieved November 25, 2007.
- ^ "Bridge Dedication Ceremony for Judge Clyde B. Wells". July 14, 2017.
- ^ John D. Ware (1982). George Gauld, Surveyor and Cartographer of the Gulf Coast. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
- ^ "The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana. Jefferys, Thomas, 1775". The David Rumsey Collection. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
- ^ Rucker, Brian R. (January 1991). "West Florida's Creek Indian Crisis of 1837". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 69 (3): 315. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Jared (July 11, 2024). "Four men, shovels, and a storm: The accidental birth of Destin's East Pass in 1929". Get the Coast. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ "What are those mysterious pilings in Choctawhatchee Bay by the 331 bridge?". 30A. May 1, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
30°26′22″N 86°18′40″W / 30.43944°N 86.31111°W
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