Hillsborough River (Florida)

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The Hillsborough River is a river located in the state of Florida in the USA. It arises in the Green Swamp near the juncture of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, and flows 54 miles through Pasco and Hillsborough Counties to an outlet in the city of Tampa on Tampa Bay. The name Hillsborough River first appeared on a British map in 1769. At the time, the Earl of Hillsborough was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, and thus controlled the pensions of the surveyors working in the American colonies, which included East Florida.

Contents 1 The River 2 Hillsborough State Park 3 The reservoir 4 References

[edit] The River

The Hillsborough River has supported humans for at least 10,000 years, including supplying most of Tampa's potable water. The river formed about 29,000 years ago. The Hillsborough river is also home to many endangered species along with Native American burial mounds. When students reach sixth grade in Hillsborough County, they take a visit to the river for three days to learn about the ecosystem, watershed, and native Floridian animals. This place is known as 'Natures Classroom'. The river is also a place of fun, fishing, boating, and swimming are all favorites of the locals. During Hurricane Francis in 2004 the river overran its banks. There are a few thousand alligators living in the river. The Hillsborough River dam creates the reservoir, that supplies water for Tampa. The dam is also preventing too much water from being released downstream by releasing 26 gallons of water a second for two minutes, enough for the survival of plants and animals that depend on the freshwater of the river. There used to be thousands of cypress trees on both sides of the river, dating back before Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida. Unfortunately, most of the older trees were cut down for wood and have been slowly replaced by the oak tree. Pines and palm trees were also plentiful, but they too were cut down for firewood. Eventually, the oak trees became dominant in the local environment.

[edit] Hillsborough State Park

Hillsborough State Park includes 2,990 acres along the Hillsborough River in northwestern Hillsborough County, in Tampa. It supports many Floridian environments such as swamps and oak hammocks and many endangered species. The park's purpose is to preserve the "real" Florida. Visitors to the park can participate in picnicking, camping, canoeing, hiking, fishing and swimming in a constructed pool. There is also a designated place to observe the river's class II rapids. It is one of the only rivers in Florida with rapids. The park opened in 1938 making it one of Florida's oldest state parks.

[edit] The reservoir

Downstream, at 30th St. in Tampa, is the Hillsborough River reservoir, behind Tampa’s Water Works Dam. The reservoir has been Tampa's main source of water since the 1920's. It is about 1,300 acres in size and can support about 1.6 billion gallons of water.

[edit] References

• Gunter, Booth. 1990. Hillsborough River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.