The Big Bend area in Florida is an informal geographic region in North Florida where the Florida Panhandle transitions into the Florida Peninsula, south and east of Tallahassee. It is characterized by vast woodlands, marshlands, and a sparsely populated coastline along the Gulf of Mexico

Location and Extent

• The Big Bend region stretches along the northern end of Apalachee Bay, from around the Ocklockonee River to Anclote Key on the Gulf coast, covering about 220 miles (350 km) of marshy coastline without barrier islands

• Inland, it includes areas with woodlands and marshes around rivers like the Suwannee, Apalachicola, and St. Marks.
• The region includes multiple counties, with some definitions covering just Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, and Levy counties, while others extend to include up to a dozen counties including Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, and others

Features

• The Big Bend Coast is notable for its drowned karst topography, salt marshes, freshwater springs, oyster reefs, and absence of barrier islands

• It contains significant natural features such as the largest single spring in the U.S., the Alapaha Rise, and extensive underwater cave systems like the Wakulla-Leon Sinks cave system

• The area is part of Florida’s Nature Coast and includes protected springs and wildlife habitats

Principal City

• Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, is the principal city near the Big Bend region

In summary, the Big Bend area of Florida is a largely undeveloped, ecologically rich coastal and inland region in the northern Gulf Coast of Florida, bridging the Panhandle and Peninsula around Tallahassee and extending along a long stretch of marshy coastline on the Gulf of Mexico