Watersheds and Coastal Waters
Charlotte Harbor Watershed
The Charlotte Harbor watershed is an area of about 4,685 mi2 that drains into the 270 mi2 Charlotte Harbor Estuary (fig. 1). Three major rivers flow into the estuary--the Peace, the Myakka, and the Caloosahatchee. The Peace River, draining an area of 2,350 mi2, flows southward for about 75 mi from a group of lakes at its headwaters to Charlotte Harbor. Land-surface altitudes range from about 200 ft above sea level at the headwaters of the Peace River to sea level at the mouth (Hammett, 1990). The Myakka River, draining an area of 602 mi2, flows about 50 mi in a southerly direction to Charlotte Harbor. The Caloosahatchee River drains an area of 1,378 mi2. The river was originally a shallow, meandering stream with headwaters near Lake Hicpochee. In its natural state, upstream parts of the river could go dry during the dry season, and saltwater could move upstream to within about 10 mi of the lake (Fan and Burgess, 1983).
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