Big Bend (Florida)

This map shows the Big Bend Coast of Florida in blue, and the Big Bend region in red.

The Big Bend region of Florida, U.S.A., is an informal region of the state with no official surveyed boundary. It generally includes the counties of the Florida Panhandle east of the Apalachicola River. The Big Bend Coast is the marshy coast without barrier islands that extends along the Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida from the Ocklockonee River to Anclote Key.

Private agencies that self-identify as serving the Big Bend region often include Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties in their service areas.^[1][2][3] The principal city in the region is Tallahassee.

The Big Bend Coast is the marshy coast extending about 350 kilometres (220 mi) from the mouth of the Ocklockonee River around Apalachee Bay and down the west coast of peninsular Florida to Anclote Key. This stretch of coast includes the coasts of Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. The Big Bend Coast is a drowned karst region, covered with salt marsh. It includes freshwater springs, oyster reefs, and the delta of the Suwannee River. There are barrier islands west of the Oklockonee River and south starting with Anclote Key, but there are no barrier islands between those places. The Big Bend Coast has little or no sand or mud. The karst topography has produced an irregular, frequently exposed, bedrock surface. Due to the width of the adjacent continental shelf (over 150 kilometres (93 mi)), low gradient slope of the coast (1:5000), and shelter from the usual wind direction of storms, the Big Bend Coast is generally subject to low wave energy. The coast is subject to storm surges.^[4][5][6][7]

See also

• Gulf Coastal Lowlands

References

State of Florida
Tallahassee (capital)
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Regions	Big Bend Central Florida Emerald Coast First Coast Florida Heartland Florida Keys Florida Panhandle Forgotten Coast Glades Gold Coast Halifax area Nature Coast North Central Florida North Florida Northeast Florida South Florida Southwest Florida Space Coast Suncoast Tampa Bay Area Treasure Coast
Metro areas	Cape Coral–Fort Myers Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Gainesville Jacksonville Lakeland–Winter Haven Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Naples–Marco Island North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Ocala Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville West Palm Beach-Boca Raton Panama City–Lynn Haven–Panama City Beach Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Port St. Lucie Punta Gorda Sebastian–Vero Beach Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg–Clearwater
Largest cities	Jacksonville Miami Tampa Orlando St. Petersburg Hialeah Tallahassee Port St. Lucie Fort Lauderdale West Palm Beach Cape Coral Pembroke Pines Hollywood
Counties	Alachua Baker Bay Bradford Brevard Broward Calhoun Charlotte Citrus Clay Collier Columbia DeSoto Dixie Duval Escambia Flagler Franklin Gadsden Gilchrist Glades Gulf Hamilton Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Holmes Indian River Jackson Jefferson Lafayette Lake Lee Leon Levy Liberty Madison Manatee Marion Martin Miami‑Dade Monroe Nassau Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam Santa Rosa Sarasota Seminole St. Johns St. Lucie Sumter Suwannee Taylor Union Volusia Wakulla Walton Washington
Former Counties	Mosquito