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Lagoon Minute - Length & Size of the Lagoon

THE LENGTH AND SIZE OF THE LAGOON

At 156 miles in length, the Indian River Lagoon covers one third of Florida’s east coast and runs along five counties.

There are five inlets to the ocean along the eastern edge of the lagoon. The southern end has four inlets (Jupiter, St. Lucie, Ft. Pierce, and Sebastian) in a span of less than 70 miles. At the northern end, it’s almost 90 miles from Sebastian Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet in New Smyrna Beach. As a result, water in the southern Lagoon gets refreshed almost daily, while in parts of the northern end, it can be over a year before lagoon water is exchanged with ocean water. 

The mixing of fresh and salt water is different throughout the lagoon and is why we see such diversity of plant and animal life. It’s no surprise that the US government designates our Indian River Lagoon as a “estuary of national significance”.  

more info: www.helpthelagoon.org

Terri Wright held the position of General Manager at WFIT from 1998-2023.