The Withlacoochee River (North) originates in Georgia, northwest of Valdosta. It flows south through Berrien, Cook, and Brooks counties in Georgia and into Florida, and eventually merges with the Suwannee at Suwannee River State Park west of Live Oak. The river is 115 miles (185 km) long.[1] It is believed to be the source for the name of the central Florida river.
"Withlacoochee" probably stems from a Muskhogean dialect, which suggests that its application is comparatively recent. It is compounded of Creek we (water), thlako (big), and chee (little), or little big water. This word combination signifies little river in the Creek language, and as we-lako or wethlako may also refer to a lake, it may signify a river of lakes, or lake river. The St. Johns River which flows through a series of large and small lakes was called welaka by the Seminoles.[2]