PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

INTRODUCTION

The name Conecuh may be the Creek compound of Koha “cane breaks” and Anaka “near.” A possible Choctaw definition is similar- Kuni “young canes” and Akka “below,” “down there.” (Read)

“Conecuh is an Indian name to which has been given a variety of meanings. But the best translators of the Indian dialect believe its meaning to be “Cane Land”, derived from the vast canebrakes which lined its numerous streams, and which covered its extensive tracts of lowlands. The original word from which the present name is supposed to have been corrupted was “Econnecka,” which, in the Creek tongue, means “Land of Cane.” (Riley p.13)

The Conecuh River in Alabama obtains the name “Escambia” after it flows into Florida, though they represent the same river. The name Escambia was given the river by some tribes and was derived from the Creek word "Shambia", meaning clearwater. (Escambia County website)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The headwaters of the Conecuh rise near Union Springs, Alabama, in the Chunnenuggee Hills of Bullock, Crenshaw and Pike Counties. The river flows in a southwesterly direction until it reaches the border of Alabama and Florida near the town of Century, Florida. It then takes the name Escambia River and flows southerly into Escambia Bay, an arm of Pensacola Bay. Larger tributaries in the system include Patsaliga Creek, Big Escambia Creek and the Sepulga River. The confluence of the Conecuh with Patsaliga Creek occurs in Covington County, and the Sepulga/Conecuh confluence occurs in the eastern portion of Escambia County. (Appendix to AEC report)

The Conecuh River drains 3,848 square miles in nine counties in south-central Alabama. (McGregor) Total length of the river is approximately 231 miles. It becomes a medium sized river as it flows through Covington and Escambia Counties, and is characterized by a sandy-bottom. Only 10% of the Conecuh / Escambia System lies in Florida. (Appendix to AEC report)

Point A and Gantt Lakes near Andalusia in Covington County are the only large impoundments in the drainage covering a combined area of about 3,670 acres. (McGregor) Both are near the town of Andalusia.

The Conecuh River is one of seven coastal rivers that lie within the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic region and drain about 25% of the state. (McGregor)