Apalachee Bay facts for kids

Apalachee Bay is a large bay found in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It's located along the coast of Florida, just west of where the Florida peninsula joins the main part of the United States. The bay is surrounded by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin counties.

Several rivers flow into Apalachee Bay, including the Aucilla, Econfina, St. Marks, and Ochlockonee rivers. In 1528, the explorer Pánfilo de Narváez and his crew built five boats in this bay. The bay gets its name from the Apalachee tribe, who lived in this area between the Aucilla and Ochlockonee rivers until the 1700s. Today, most of the bay's coastline is part of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area for animals and plants.

Discovering Ancient Underwater Sites

Since the 1980s, scientists have found and studied many old archaeological sites hidden on the seabed of Apalachee Bay. These sites tell us about a time long ago when the world was very different.

Florida's Past Landscape

During the last Ice Age, global sea levels were much lower than they are today. The entire Florida area, including what is now Apalachee Bay, was dry land. The west coast of Florida was about 150 miles (240 km) farther west than it is now!

As the Ice Age ended, sea levels slowly began to rise. This was happening when the first people arrived in Florida. Even when people first came, the sea level was still about 130 feet (40 meters) lower than it is now. By about 8,000 years ago, it was still about 65 feet (20 meters) lower. Because the land here slopes very gently, the ancient coastline was far away from where it is today.

Life on the Ancient Land

The lower sea levels during these ancient times meant Florida was also much drier. There wasn't much surface water. In areas like Apalachee Bay, which has many karst features (like caves and sinkholes), the only fresh water available was often found in sinkholes along dried-up riverbeds.

Many places where ancient people lived have been found in the "Big Bend" region next to Apalachee Bay. Many important discoveries have been made in sinkholes along the Aucilla River. Some of these sites show that people were here even before the well-known Clovis culture appeared (for example, the Page-Ladson site).

Because of all these discoveries on land, scientists thought that more ancient sites could be found on the land that is now covered by Apalachee Bay.

Finding Underwater Rivers and Settlements

Scientists used special tools to map the seafloor of Apalachee Bay. They looked for the paths of ancient rivers that are now underwater. They found parts of the "Paleoaucilla" (the ancient Aucilla River) and possibly other old river channels. Along these ancient river paths, they found places where humans once lived.

Key Underwater Sites

• J&J Hunt Submerged Archaeological Site (8JE740), the Ontolo site (8JE1577), and Area 91-B (8JE781): These sites were found along the Paleoaucilla River. Tools and Radiocarbon dating show that people lived here from the late Paleoindian period until the middle of the Archaic period.
• Econfina Channel Site (8TA139): This site is about 3 miles (5 km) offshore and 7 to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) deep. It might be the ancient channel of the Econfina River. Here, archaeologists found stone tools and a shell midden (a pile of ancient trash, mostly shells). There was also a spring nearby. Shells from the midden were dated to about 4,510 years ago and 2,621 years ago.
• Fitch site (8JE739): Located west of the Paleoaucilla sites, this site is about 6 miles (10 km) from the mouth of the Aucilla River and 17 feet (5 meters) underwater. It might have been an ancient quarry where people collected chert (a type of rock used for tools) during the early Archaic period, more than 7,500 years ago.
• Ray Hole Spring (8TA171): This site is about 12 miles (19 km) south of the Aucilla River and 35 feet (11 meters) underwater. In 1976, it was described as a sinkhole with a flowing spring. It seems to have filled with debris since then, possibly from hurricanes. This site is connected to the "Ray Hole Trough," which is part of the Paleoaucilla channel. Dates show that Ray Hole was covered by water between 8,220 and 7,390 years ago.

See also

In Spanish: Bahía de Apalache para niños