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Rivers
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The river scene travels 700 years back
in time along the banks of the Apalachicola River. As visitors move
off of a boardwalk onto a simulated dirt path, they are surrounded
by a 360-degree wraparound forest mural and a Native American trading
scene from ca. 1300 A.D. Northwest Florida was once a major political
and cultural crossroads, and Indian nations lived in large settlements
along rivers. This exchange is between peoples of the Fort Walton
culture and the Etowah. Northwest Florida rivers are filled with
fossilized remains of now-extinct vertebrate animal species, and
examples of these are featured along with many archaeological and
ethnographic artifacts from the museum's collections. |
FOCUS ON: Turtle Diversity
Florida's panhandle is the most biologically rich area of the state. The
number of turtle species in the region is a good example of this diversity.
Over the last few million years, repeated sea level changes covered much
of the Florida peninsula with saltwater, altering freshwater ecosystems
and killing the organisms adapted to freshwater. Rivers and streams at
higher elevations in northwest Florida served as a refuge for freshwater
species, allowing these species to survive and diversify.
At 16 species, the Apalachicola River basin supports the highest number of reptile and amphibian species in Florida, the second highest in the United States, and the third highest in the world. The only two rivers that are home to more turtle species are the Mobile River in Alabama, which has 18, and the Ganges River in India, which has 19 species of turtles living in its waters.
Apalachicola River Turtle Species
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Eastern Mud Turtle
Florida Mud 
Suwannee River
Florida
Yellowbelly
Florida Redbelly
Stinkpot Turtle
Loggerhead Musk
Gopher
Gulf Coast Box
Chicken
Florida Snapping
Florida Softshell
Gulf Coast Spiny
