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This article is about the southern Withlacoochee River. For the northern river, see Withlacoochee River (North).

The Withlacoochee River (South) originates in central Florida's Green Swamp, east of Polk City. It flows west, then north, and then turns northwest and finally west again before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river is 86 miles (138 kilometers) long and has a drainage basin of 1,170 square miles (3,030 square kilometers). It is believed to have been named after the river to the north.

The Withlacoochee River forms most of the boundary between Polk County and Sumter County, then flows through Pasco County and Hernando County, and then forms part of the boundary between Hernando County and Sumter County, and all of the boundary between Citrus County and Sumter County, between Citrus County and Marion County and between Citrus County and Levy County (including Lake Rousseau). The largest city close to the river is Dade City.

"Withlacoochee" probably stems from a Muskhogean dialect, which suggests that its application is comparatively recent. It is compounded of Creek we (water), thlako (big), and chee (little), or little big water. This word combination signifies little river in the Creek language, and as we-lako or wethlako may also refer to a lake, it may signify a river of lakes, or lake river. The Withlacoochee flows just to the eastward of Tsala Apopka Lake, and the St. Johns River which flows through a series of large and small lakes was called welaka by the Seminoles.^[1]

1. ^ Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). in Mark F. Boyd: Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey. 

• Henderson, Rex. 1990. Withlacoochee River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.

• Withlacoochee River Canoe Trail at Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Rivers that flow north at EcoFlorida
• The Withlacoochee (South) at Gorp.com

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