Intracoastal Waterway

 

c.3,000 mi (4,827 km) long, partly natural, partly artificial, providing sheltered passage for commercial and leisure boats along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Boston, Mass. to Key West, S Fla., and along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Apalachee Bay, NW Fla., to Brownsville, Tex., on the Rio Grande. The toll-free waterway, authorized by Congress in 1919, is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers at a minimum depth of 12 ft (4 m) for most of its length; some parts have 7-ft (2.1-m) and 9-ft (2.7-m) minimum depths. Among some of the waterway's most often used canals along the Atlantic route are the Chesapeake & Delaware and the Chesapeake & Albemarle; along the Gulf route the most used are the New Orleans–Rigolets Cut, the Port Arthur–Corpus Christi Channel, and the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal at New Orleans. The separate Okeechobee Waterway, S Fla., crosses the Florida peninsula. Plans to build a canal across N Florida to link the Atlantic and Gulf sections were blocked in 1971 by a presidential order to prevent potential environmental damage. Many miles of navigable waterways connect with the coastal system, including the Hudson River–New York State Canal System, the Chesapeake Bay, the sounds of North Carolina, the Savannah River, the Apalachicola River, and the entire Mississippi River system. The Intracoastal Waterway has a good deal of commercial activity; barges haul petroleum, petroleum products, foodstuffs, building materials, and manufactured goods.

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 4,800-km (3,000-mile) recreational and commercial waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals.

The waterway runs the length of the Eastern Seaboard (Maine to Miami, Florida), from its unofficial northern terminus at the Manasquan River in New Jersey, where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterway is toll-free, but commercial users pay a fuel tax that is used to maintain and improve it. The ICW is a significant portion of the Great loop, a circumnavigation route encircling the Eastern half of the North American continent.

The creation of the Intracoastal Waterway was authorized by the United States Congress in 1919. It is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Federal law provides for the waterway to be maintained at a minimum depth of 12 ft (4 m) for most of its length, but inadequate funding has prevented that. Consequently, shoaling or shallow water are problems along several sections of the waterway; some parts have 7-ft (2.1-m) and 9-ft (2.7-m) minimum depths. The waterway consists of two non-contiguous segments: the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, extending from Brownsville, Texas to Carrabelle, Florida, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, extending from Key West, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts. The two segments were originally intended to be connected via the Cross Florida Barge Canal across northern Florida, but this was never completed due to environmental concerns.

The Intracoastal Waterway has a good deal of commercial activity; barges haul petroleum, petroleum products, foodstuffs, building materials, and manufactured goods. It is also used extensively by recreational boaters. On the east coast, some of the traffic in fall and spring is by snowbirds who regularly move south in winter and north in summer. The waterway is also used when the ocean is too rough to travel on.

Natural bodies of water

The following natural bodies of water are included in the Intracoastal Waterway system:

• Albemarle Sound
• Barnegat Bay
• Biscayne Bay
• Buzzards Bay
• Cape Cod Bay
• Casco Bay
• Chesapeake Bay
• Delaware Bay
• East River
• Gulf of Maine
• Halifax River
• Laguna Madre
• Mosquito Lagoon
• Indian River Lagoon
• Long Island Sound
• Pamlico Sound

Canals

• Chesapeake and Delaware Ship Canal
• Cape Cod Canal
• Dismal Swamp Canal
• Delaware and Raritan Canal-no longer operational or part of the Intracoastal Waterway
• Point Pleasant Canal
• Waccamaw River in South Carolina
• Winyah Bay in South Carolina
• Little River Inlet in South Carolina

See also

• Waterways along and crossings of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
• Waterways along and crossings of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

External links

• US Army Corps of Engineers - Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway information site
• Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association
• Elizabeth City Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association
• Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Handbook of Texas
• TV.com listing for Modern Marvels episode

Significant Waterways of Florida

Rivers: Apalachicola · Caloosahatchee · Kissimmee · Ochlockonee · Peace · St. Johns · Suwannee · Withlacoochee · Yellow Lakes: Apopka · Blue Cypress · East Toho · George · Harris · Istokpoga · Jackson · Jesup · Kissimmee · Miccosukee · Monroe · Okeechobee · Rodman · Rousseau · Seminole · Talquin · Toho · Tsala Apopka · Washington Other Rivers: Alafia · Alapaha · Anclote · Aucilla · Blackwater · Chipola · Choctawhatchee · Econfina · Econlockhatchee · Escambia · Hillsborough · Ichetucknee · Little Manatee · Manatee · Miami · Myakka · Ocklawaha · Perdido · Pithlachascotee · Rainbow · St. Lucie · St. Marks · St. Marys · Santa Fe · Shark · Steinhatchee · Tomoka · Trout · Wakulla · Weeki Wachee · Wekiva Canals: Cross Florida Barge Canal · Hillsboro Canal · Miami Canal · Okeechobee Waterway · Tamiami Canal See Also: Florida Everglades · Intracoastal Waterway · List of Florida rivers

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