Lakes & Rivers
Freshwater Pleasures to Suit Every Aquatic Activity
Florida’s springs are a visible sign of rivers that run underground and then turn toward the surface where they discharge their clear, clean water into a pond. Many Florida rivers are really surface extensions of underground streams. They flow outward from a spring, supporting countless plants and animals with their temperate water.
Lakes in Citrus County can be small enough to swim across or large enough to support power boats, water skiing and even sailing. The Chain of Lakes near Inverness links several large lakes into a continuous body of water more than 20 miles in length.
Where spring-fed freshwater rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico, a combination of stable temperature, even in winter, and the mixing of fresh and salt water, supports North America’s largest gathering of manatees and many other aquatic creatures including Florida’s famous and delicious blue crabs.
