Perdido River facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Perdido River
Perdido Pass, the mouth of the Perdido River and Perdido Bay at Orange Beach, Alabama. Alabama State Route 182 crosses the inlet.
Country	United States
State	Alabama and Florida
Physical characteristics
Main source	Escambia County, AL
River mouth	Perdido Bay sea level
Length	65 miles (105 km)

The Perdido River is a river about 65 miles (105 km) long in the United States. It flows through the states of Alabama and Florida. This river forms most of the border between these two states.

The Perdido River flows into Perdido Bay, which then connects to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Perdido" comes from the Spanish word for "lost."

The river starts in southwestern Alabama, in Escambia County. It flows south for about 5 miles (8 km). After that, it becomes the border between Alabama and Florida. The river then winds its way generally southeast. It finally reaches the northern part of Perdido Bay, west of Pensacola.

History of the Perdido River Border

The Perdido River has been an important border for a long time. Different countries have claimed the land around it.

Early Borders (1682-1783)

From 1682 to 1763, the Perdido River was the border between two colonies. To the west was the French colony of Louisiana. To the east was the Spanish colony of Florida.

After the French and Indian War, Great Britain won. They took control of the land between the Mississippi River and the Perdido River. They also gained Spanish Florida. Spain received French land west of the Mississippi River.

The British divided their new land into two parts: West Florida and East Florida. The border between them was the Apalachicola River.

Twenty years later, in 1783, Britain returned all of Florida to Spain. This meant Spain now controlled the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Spain kept the names West and East Florida.

Louisiana Purchase and Disputes (1800-1812)

In 1800, Spain gave the Louisiana colony back to France. Spain kept control of the lands east of the Mississippi River. In 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.

A disagreement started between the U.S. and Spain. The U.S. believed the land west of the Perdido River was part of Louisiana. Spain argued that only the land west of the Mississippi River had gone back to France. The coastal area between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers was disputed.

In 1810, the Republic of West Florida declared itself independent from Spain. The U.S. military quickly took over this new nation. However, this action did not extend all the way to the Perdido River.

War of 1812 and Final Border (1812-1822)

During the War of 1812, U.S. forces entered Mobile. They took control from Spanish officials. The U.S. then added the coastal area west of the Perdido River to the Mississippi Territory. Later, the Alabama Territory was created from the eastern part of the Mississippi Territory.

The border dispute with Spain was finally settled in 1819. This happened with the Adams–Onís Treaty. In this treaty, Spain gave all of Florida to the United States. The Spanish government approved the treaty a couple of years later. In 1822, the Florida Territory was created. The Perdido River became the border between Florida and the new state of Alabama.

See also

In Spanish: Río Perdido para niños