Crystal River
Manatee Haven, on spring-fed Kings Bay.
- Population
- 3,396 (2020 census)
- Kings Bay
- 72°F all year
- Manatees
- Over 400 in winter
- Tides
- Two highs, two lows, uneven
Then
- c. 500 BC
Mound-building people settle along the river, at what is now Crystal River Archaeological State Park. They leave before Europeans arrive, for reasons unknown.
- 1903
Crystal River becomes a town. It incorporates as a city in 1923.
- 1969
Digging for the nuclear plant turns up bones of rhinoceroses, mastodons, a giant armadillo and a huge land tortoise.
Now
Kings Bay stays near 72°F, and more than 400 manatees gather in winter. It is the only place in the United States where people can legally swim with them in the wild, the fastest-growing part of the local economy.
Homosassa Springs lies about seven miles south along U.S. 19.
On the water
From NOAA's predictions for Kings Bay, FL over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).
- Pattern
- Two highs and two lows a day, one noticeably bigger than the other
- Typical daily range
- 2.0 ft
- Biggest swing
- 3.1 ft on Nov 25
- Smallest swing
- 0.7 ft on Feb 1
- Highest high
- 2.7 ft, Dec 25 at 4:36 AM
- Lowest low
- −0.4 ft, Nov 25 at 11:32 AM
14 tide stations around Crystal River
- Kings Bayin town
- Twin Rivers Marina2.8 mi
- Dixie Bay, Salt River, Crystal Bay2.9 mi
- Ozello north, Crystal Bay5.2 mi
- Shell Island, north end6.2 mi
- Ozello, St. Martins River6.7 mi
- Halls River bridge, Homosassa River7.1 mi
- Mangrove Pt., Crystal Bay8.2 mi
- Florida Power8.9 mi
- Mason Creek, Homosassa Bay10.1 mi