Tampa Bay

The natural harbor and estuary of Tampa Bay follows the central coast of Florida and is connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Other bodies of water that make up the Tampa Bay area include Hillsboro Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle and Lower Tampa Bay. The term coined for this region of the state refers to the entire area, which includes several counties, towns, and cities, all surrounding this massive body of water. The bay was originally a natural spring and fresh water lake fed by the Floridan Aquifer. The bay we know now was formed nearly 6,000 years ago as a brackish, wide mouthed estuary and drowned river valley met the Gulf of Mexico. It is not completely understood how the transformation from a lake to a bay happened but it is believed that after the last ice age the rise in the sea level formed a massive sink hole near what is now the current mouth of the bay, which evidently connected the lake to the gulf.