REPORT UPON THE RIVERS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA. 
295 
PEACE RIVER. 
Peace River , one of the largest rivers of southern Florida, rises in Polk County, 
where it drains a number of lakes of considerable size; thence flowing in a southerly 
direction for 75 miles, it empties into Charlotte Harbor. During the rainy season the 
water is deep and the river navigable for its entire length, but in May and June the 
water becomes low, and the river is fordable at many places. In December there was 
too much water in the channel for successful seining, and although several localities 
were visited, no spot was found where the net could be hauled to good advantage. 
The banks are low everywhere, and there is but little vegetation in the stream, except 
near its mouth, where it spreads out to form a large swampy tract, filled with rushes, 
sedges, and wild grasses. Examinations were made at Zolfo Springs, December 25, and 
at Wauchula and Bartow. At the first-mentioned place the river flows through a 
broad, low valley; its banks are precipitous and the water deep. The temperature was 
63° F. Much phosphate rock occurs in that locality. 
Joshua Greek is a small eastern tributary of Peace River, 12 or 15 miles long, and 
with an average width of 25 feet at the crossing of the South Florida Railroad, where 
it was examined. As in many of the Florida streams, the water appears dark-colored, 
owing to the decaying vegetation in the bottom of the stream, which forms a thin layer 
of very black sediment over the sandy bottom. The average depth of the water is, 
perhaps, 4 feet, although at short intervals there are “holes” which far exceed this 
depth. The sandy bottom is swept clean in the swifter parts of the channel, but in 
the more sluggish places the vegetable debris has collected to a thickness of several 
feet, forming a miry bottom, remarkable for the amount of marsh gas given off when- 
ever it is disturbed. There are few ripples, but the collections of drift make it impos- 
sible for boats to ascend the stream. The banks are lined with a subtropical vegeta- 
tion, and jungles of palmettos and live oaks make access to the stream especially 
difficult; while, owing to the steepness of the banks and the absence of sandbars, 
good landing-places for the seine are not numerous. Outcrops of phosphate occur in 
some places in the bed of the stream. This deposit seems to underlie much of the sur- 
rounding country, and is extensively mined, and shipped away for fertilizing purposes. 
The material resembles somewhat small water- worn pebbles of flint, but it is readily 
distinguished by its softness and lightness. Shark teeth and bones of other vertebrates 
are abundant in the phosphate rock. Spirogyra and other forms of algae are common. 
The creek was examined at the crossing of the South Florida Railroad, about 3 miles 
from its mouth and near Hocatee, December 2 1, 1890. Temperature of water, 60° F. 
Charlie Apopka is one of the largest eastern tributaries of Peace River. It rises 
near the northern boundary of De Soto County, and flows southwesterly a distance of 
25 miles. The stream has cut its channel through the sandy soil, which in places 
approaches a sandstone in consistency, to a depth of from 12 to 20 feet, piling up large 
banks of clean white sand at every curve in its course. The current is quite swift, 
and the depth of water ranges from 3 to 6 feet. The bottom of the stream is composed 
of sand, together with coarse gravel of very soft, dark sandstone and some phosphate. 
Ho algae were observed. Fishes were very scarce, Fundulus seminolis being the only 
abundant species. The examinations were made at Charlie Apopka Station. 
