| Alafia River Tributary to Hillsborough Bay | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location of Alafia River mouth  Alafia River (the United States) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Hillsborough |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of North and South Prongs of Alafia River |
| • location | about 1.5 miles north-northeast of Pinecrest, Florida |
| • coordinates | 27°51′46″N 82°08′20″W / 27.86278°N 82.13889°W[1] |
| • elevation | 38 ft (12 m)[1] |
| Mouth | Hillsborough Bay |
• location | Gibsonton, Florida |
• coordinates | 27°51′11″N 82°24′1″W / 27.85306°N 82.40028°W[1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[1] |
| Length | 48.49 mi (78.04 km)[2] |
| Basin size | 400.84 square miles (1,038.2 km2)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Hillsborough Bay |
| • average | 315.84 cu ft/s (8.944 m3/s) at mouth with Hillsborough Bay[3] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Hillsborough Bay → Tampa Bay → Gulf of Mexico |
| River system | Alafia River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | South Prong Alafia River McDonald Branch McCollough Branch Little Fishhawk Creek Fishhawk Creek Bell Creek Rice Creek |
| • right | North Prong Alafia River Turkey Creek Buckhorn Creek |
| Bridges | S County Road 39, Lithia Pinecrest Road, Bell Shoals Road, US 301, I-75, US 41 |
The Alafia River is 25 miles (40 km) long, with a watershed of 335 square miles (870 km2)[4] in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, flowing into Tampa Bay. The watershed contains ten named lakes and ponds, and 29 named rivers, streams and canals. During the rainy season, excess water is pumped to the new C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, which opened in 2005. The river is formed by two prongs. The north prong starts south of Mulberry and runs for 23.9 miles until it meets the south prong in Lithia.[5] The south prong begins south of Bradley Junction and continues for 28.7 miles.[6] The combined river then flows 24.7 miles west into Tampa Bay.[7][8]
- ^ a b c d "Geographic Names Information System". edits.nationalmap.gov. US Geological Survey. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". epa.maps.arcgis.com. US EPA. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Alafia River Watershed Report". watersgeo.epa.gov. US EPA. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ Lamm, Greg. 1990. Alafia River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.
- ^ "Alafia River - North Prong - Tampa Bay Water Atlas".
- ^ "Alafia River - South Prong - Tampa Bay Water Atlas".
- ^ "Alafia River - Tampa Bay Water Atlas".
- ^ "Alafia River Watershed, 2001". fcit.usf.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-06.