Wakulla River

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The Wakulla River is a ten-mile long river in Wakulla County, Florida. It carries the outflow from Wakulla Springs, site of the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, to the St. Marks River.

The river, due to its clear, clean water, was once used to film underwater scenes during north Florida's cinema boom. Movies fimed in Wakulla Springs and River include several Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller and Creature from the Black Lagoon.[1]

Etymology

Wakula river between uper bridge and lower bridge

The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of Guacara. The Spanish Gua is the equivalent of the Creek wa, and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R" sound, the second element cara would have been pronounced kala by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was pronounced Wakala by the Seminoles who are Muskhogean in their origin and language.

Since Wakulla was probably a Timucuan word, it is unlikely that its meaning will ever be known. It may contain the word kala which signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.[2]

List of crossings

Bridge Route Location Coordinates
Upper Bridge Wakulla CR 365 Wakulla Station
Lower Bridge US 98 St. Marks

References

  • Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. 1990. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 0-910923-70-1. P. 96.
  1. ^ Wakulla County: Wakulla Springs Retrieved June 28, 2007
  2. ^ Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). Mark F. Boyd (ed.). Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey.