View source for Tampa Bay

{{Short description|Estuary and natural harbor in Florida, off the Gulf of Mexico}}
{{About|the body of water|the demographic region|Tampa Bay area|the city|Tampa, Florida|other uses|Tampa (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Tampa Bay
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'''Tampa Bay''' is a large natural [[harbor]] and shallow [[estuary]] connected to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] on the west-central coast of [[Florida]], comprising Hillsborough Bay, [[McKay Bay]], Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater inflow into the bay is the [[Hillsborough River (Florida)|Hillsborough River]], which flows into Hillsborough Bay in [[downtown Tampa]]. Many other smaller rivers and streams also flow into Tampa Bay, resulting in a large [[Drainage basin|watershed area]].

The shores of Tampa Bay were home to the [[Weeden Island Culture]] and then the [[Safety Harbor culture]] for thousands of years. These cultures relied heavily on Tampa Bay for food, and the waters were rich enough that they were one of the few Native American cultures that did not have to farm{{Citation_needed|date=December 2025}}. The [[Tocobaga]] was likely the dominant chiefdom in the area when Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s, but there were likely smaller chiefdoms on the eastern side of the bay which were not well documented. The indigenous population had been decimated by disease and warfare by the late 1600s, and there were no permanent human settlements in the area for over a century. The United States took possession of Florida in 1821 and established [[Fort Brooke]] at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824.

The communities surrounding Tampa Bay grew tremendously during the 20th century. Today, the area is home to about 4&nbsp;million residents, making Tampa Bay a heavily used commercial and recreational waterway and subjecting it to increasing amounts of pollutants from industry, agriculture, sewage, and [[surface runoff]]. The bay's water quality was seriously degraded by the early 1980s, resulting in a sharp decline in sea life and decreased availability for recreational use. Greater care has been taken in recent decades to mitigate the effects of human habitation on Tampa Bay, most notably upgraded [[sewage treatment]] facilities and several [[sea grass]] restoration projects, resulting in improved water quality over time. However, occasional [[red tide]] and other [[algae]] blooms have caused concern about the ongoing health of the estuary.<ref name="redtide" >{{cite news |last1=Sampson |first1=Zachary |last2=Weber |first2=Natalie |title=Red Tide's return raises fears about the health of Tampa Bay |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2021/07/23/red-tides-return-raises-fears-about-the-health-of-tampa-bay/ |access-date=August 30, 2021 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=July 23, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The term "Tampa Bay" is often used as shorthand to refer to all or parts of the [[Tampa Bay area]], which comprises many towns and cities in several counties surrounding the large body of water. Local marketing and branding efforts (including several professional sports teams, tourist boards, and chambers of commerce) commonly use the moniker "Tampa Bay", furthering the misconception that it is the name of a particular municipality when this is not the case.<ref>{{cite web |author=Craig Pittman |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article675482.ece?comments=legacy |title=Media found the Rays, lost the 'Bay' |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=July 7, 2008 |access-date=2010-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607060309/http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article675482.ece?comments=legacy |archive-date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Guzzo |first1=Paul |title=Tampa Bay is not the name of a city, locals say. History proves it was. |url=https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2022/11/16/tampa-bay-is-not-name-city-locals-say-history-proves-it-was/ |access-date=November 16, 2022 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=November 16, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Tampa Bay watershed USGS.gif|right|thumb|[[Tampa Bay Watershed]] from [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] ]]

===Origin===
Tampa Bay formed approximately 6,000 years ago as a [[brackish]] drowned river valley type<ref>Kunneke, J.T., and T.F. Palik, 1984. [https://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/wdb/pub/others/85_15.pdf "Tampa Bay environmental atlas", U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85(15)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527232008/http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/wdb/pub/others/85_15.pdf |date=2010-05-27 }}, page 3. Retrieved January 12, 2010.</ref> [[estuary]] with a wide mouth connecting it to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. Prior to that time, it was a large [[fresh water]] lake, possibly fed by the [[Floridan Aquifer]] through [[spring (hydrosphere)|natural springs]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Holocene and Pleistocene Marine and Non-marine Sediment from Tampa Bay, Florida|journal=Harvard.edu|bibcode=2002AGUFMOS61A0191E|last1=Edgar |first1=N. T. |last2=Willard |first2=D. A. |last3=Brooks |first3=G. R. |last4=Cronin |first4=T. D. |last5=Hastings |first5=D. W. |last6=Flower |first6=B. P. |last7=Swarzenski |first7=P. W. |last8=Hollander |first8=D. J. |last9=Larson |first9=R. |last10=Hine |first10=A. C. |last11=Suthard |first11=B. C. |last12=Locker |first12=S. D. |last13=Greenwood |first13=W. J. |year=2002 |volume=2002 }}</ref> Though the exact process of the lake-to-bay transformation is not completely understood, the leading theory is that rising sea levels following the last [[ice age]] coupled with the formation of a massive [[sink hole]] near the current mouth of the bay created a connection between the lake and the gulf.<ref>''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' [http://www.sptimes.com/2002/07/19/TampaBay/30_feet_deep__6_000_y.shtml Depths detail bay's beginnings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225012238/http://www.sptimes.com/2002/07/19/TampaBay/30_feet_deep__6_000_y.shtml |date=2011-12-25 }}</ref>

===Ecology===
Tampa Bay is Florida's largest open-water estuary, extending over {{convert|400|sqmi|km2|sp=us}} and forming coastlines of [[Hillsborough County, Florida|Hillsborough]], [[Manatee County, Florida|Manatee]] and [[Pinellas County, Florida|Pinellas]] counties. The freshwater sources of the bay are distributed among over a hundred small tributaries, rather than a single river.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulfbase.org/bay/view.php?bid=tampa|title=GulfBase - Tampa Bay and Keys|publisher=gulfbase.org|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913114951/http://www.gulfbase.org/bay/view.php?bid=tampa|archive-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> The [[Hillsborough River (Florida)|Hillsborough River]] is the largest such freshwater source, with the [[Alafia River|Alafia]], [[Manatee River|Manatee]], and [[Little Manatee River|Little Manatee]] rivers the next largest sources. Because of these many flows into the bay, its large [[Drainage basin|watershed]] covers portions of five Florida counties<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tbep.org/portrait/tampa_bay_map.html|title=Map of the Tampa Bay Watershed|date=22 March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322215121/http://www.tbep.org/portrait/tampa_bay_map.html|archive-date=22 March 2009}}</ref> and approximately {{convert|2200|sqmi|km2|sp=us}}.

The bottom of Tampa Bay is silty and sandy, with an average water depth of only about {{convert|12|ft|m}}.<ref name="TPEP">[http://www.tbep.org/ "Tampa Bay Estuary Program"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830020213/http://tbep.org/ |date=2007-08-30 }}, Official Website</ref> The relatively shallow water and [[tidal mud flats]] allow for large [[sea grass]] beds, and along with the surrounding [[mangrove]]-dominated wetlands, the bay provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. More than 200 species of fish are found in the waters of the bay, along with [[bottlenose dolphin]]s and [[manatees]], plus many types of [[marine invertebrates]] including [[oysters]], [[scallops]], [[clams]], [[shrimp]] and [[crabs|crab]]. More than two dozen species of birds, including [[brown pelican]]s, several types of [[heron]] and [[egret]], [[Roseate spoonbill]]s, [[cormorant]]s, and [[laughing gull]]s make their year-round home along its shores and small islands, with several other [[Bird migration|migratory]] species joining them in the winter. The cooler months are also when warm-water outfalls from [[Big Bend Power Station|power plants bordering the bay]] draw one out of every six [[Manatees#West Indian|West Indian manatees]], an endangered species, to the area.<ref>"Can manatees survive without warm waters from power plants?", ''Tampa Tribune'' (tbo.com), Jan. 8, 2011.</ref>

=== Environmental issues ===

==== Conservation ====
Tampa Bay was designated as an "estuary of national significance" by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] in 1990. Two [[National Wildlife Refuge]]s are located in Tampa Bay: [[Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge]] and the refuge on [[Egmont Key]]. Most of the islands (including several man-made islands built from [[Dredging|dredge spoil]]<ref name="TPEP" /><ref>[http://www.tbep.org/about_the_tampa_bay_estuary_program-state_of_the_bay-dredging_and_dredged_material_management.html "Dredging and Dredged Material Management"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113405/http://www.tbep.org/about_the_tampa_bay_estuary_program-state_of_the_bay-dredging_and_dredged_material_management.html |date=2015-09-24 }}, Tampa Bay Estuary Program</ref>) and [[sandbar]]s are off-limits to the public, due to their fragile ecology and their use as nesting sites by many species of birds. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program keeps watch over the Bay's health.<ref name="TPEP" />

==== Pollution ====
Tampa Bay was once teeming with fish and wildlife. People of the [[Safety Harbor culture]] lived almost entirely from mullet, shellfish, sea turtles, manatees, crabs, and other bounties harvested from the sea. As late as the early 20th century, visitors still reported huge schools of mullet swimming across the bay in such numbers that they "impeded the passage of boats".<ref name="usf.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/OldTampaBaylit.pdf |title=Some Historical Accounts of the Natural Conditions in Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County |access-date=2011-01-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720102714/http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/OldTampaBaylit.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref>

The establishment and rapid growth of surrounding communities during the 20th century caused serious damage to the bay's natural environment. Heavy harvesting of fish and other sea life, constant [[dredging]] of shipping channels, and the clearing of [[mangrove]]s for shoreline development were important factors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/programs_tampa.cfm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150412172020/http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/programs_tampa.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2015|title=Tampa Bay|work=epa.gov|date=26 March 2015 |access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref> Most damaging was the discharge of [[waste water]] and other pollutants into the bay, which drastically degraded water quality.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/Seagrass%20Meadows%20of%20Tampa%20Bay%20-%20A%20Review.pdf |title=Seagrass Meadows of Tampa Bay - A Review |access-date=2011-01-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720102727/http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/Seagrass%20Meadows%20of%20Tampa%20Bay%20-%20A%20Review.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref> The bay's health reached a low point in the 1970s. The water was so murky that sunlight could not reach the shallow bottom, reducing [[sea grass]] coverage by more than 80% compared to earlier in the century and severely impacting the marine ecosystem. Many previously common species became scarce, and bay beaches were regularly closed due to unsafe levels of bacteria and pollutants.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref name = "decline" />

Beginning in the early 1980s after federal and state legislation to improve water quality, authorities installed improved [[water treatment|water treatment plants]] and tightened regulation of [[industrial waste|industrial discharge]], leading to slow but steady improvement in water quality and general ecological health.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clinton4.nara.gov/CEQ/earthday/ch12.html|title=Ten Communities: Profiles in Environmental Progress|work=nara.gov|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113092501/http://clinton4.nara.gov/CEQ/earthday/ch12.html|archive-date=13 January 2015}}</ref> By 2010, measures of sea grass coverage, water clarity, and [[biodiversity]] had improved to levels last seen in the 1950s.<ref>[http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wetlands/tampa-bay-sea-grasses-a-leading-indicator-of-water-health-hit-60-year-high/1146746 "Tampa Bay sea grasses, a leading indicator of water health, hit 60-year high"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124231659/http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wetlands/tampa-bay-sea-grasses-a-leading-indicator-of-water-health-hit-60-year-high/1146746 |date=2011-01-24 }}, ''St. Petersburg Times''</ref>

However, industrial and agricultural runoff along with runoff from developed areas pose a continuing threat to marine ecosystems in the bay, particularly by clouding the water with sediments and algae blooms, and seagrass coverage declined slightly in the late 2010s.<ref name = "decline">{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Cathy |title=Seagrass In Tampa Bay Declined 13 Percent In Recent Years |url=https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/2021-05-17/seagrass-in-tampa-bay-declined-13-percent-in-recent-years |access-date=August 30, 2021 |work=WUSF Public Media |date=May 17, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Fortado|first=Lindsay|date=September 20, 2019|title=Tampa Bay cities prepare for rising sea levels and storm risk|url=https://www.ft.com/content/780ca792-b7a8-11e9-8a88-aa6628ac896c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/780ca792-b7a8-11e9-8a88-aa6628ac896c |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2021-02-18|website=Financial Times}}</ref><ref name="redtide" /> Wastewater pollution from old phosphate plants near the shoreline has been a particular problem. For example, in 2004, a leak of 65 million gallons of acidic water from a [[Criticisms_of_Cargill#Cargill_Phosphate_company_2004_acidic_wastewater_spill_in_Tampa_Bay|Cargill phosphate plant]] on the bay's southern shore severely impacted wetlands in the vicinity of the spill.<ref name="TampaTribune_Salinero_20120902">{{cite web|first=Mike |last=Salinero |date=September 2, 2012 |location=Tampa Bay, Florida
|url=http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/sep/02/mosaic-co-environmental-project-to-revive-ecologic-ar-481009/ |title=Mosaic Co. environmental project to revive ecological disaster area |newspaper=The Tampa Tribune |access-date=May 6, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204054623/http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/sep/02/mosaic-co-environmental-project-to-revive-ecologic-ar-481009/|archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref>

On September 5, 2004, acidic process water was released from the Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC storage containment system during [[Hurricane Frances]]. By the following day, an estimated 65 million gallons had emptied into Archie Creek Canal, [[Hillsborough Bay (Florida)|Hillsborough Bay]], and surrounding wetlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mosaic {{!}} Hazardous Waste {{!}} Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program |url=https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardous-waste/mosaic |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=darrp.noaa.gov}}</ref>

And in April 2021, a breach of a wastewater reservoir at the long-closed [[Piney Point phosphate plant]] sent over 200 millions gallons of nutrient-rich [[mine tailings]] streaming into lower Tampa Bay.<ref name="Miami Herald">{{cite news|last1=Callihan|first1=Ryan|date=April 4, 2021|title=A worst case at Piney Point? {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} wall of water. DeSantis tours site, stresses safety|work=Miami Herald|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article250420091.html|access-date=4 April 2021}}</ref> The resulting growth of [[red tide]] [[algae]] led to an [[ecocide]] and killed over 1000 tons of fish in the bay and along the nearby gulf coast and may lead to further damage to seagrass beds.<ref name="redtide" />

The effects of [[Hurricane Milton]] in October 2024 caused polluted waste from the fertilizer industry including products from [[The Mosaic Company|Mosaic]], which were retained after the production of phosphate, to enter into Tampa Bay. Both Hurricane Milton and [[Hurricane Helene]] caused disruption in the production of phosphate fertilizers from Tampa Bay.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wusf.org/environment/2024-10-09/hurricane-milton-polluted-waste-florida-fertilizer-industry-piney-point-phosphogypsum |title=Polluted waste from Florida's fertilizer industry is in the path of Milton's fury |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=9 October 2024 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=BIESECKER |first1=MICHAEL |last2=DEAREN |first2=JASON |url=https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-florida-environment-fertilizer-pollution-9c08338cf2d6d415329ce594ba818cde |title=Polluted waste from Florida’s fertilizer industry is in the path of Milton’s fury |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=9 October 2024 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Polansek |first=Tom |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/mosaic-says-fertilizer-waste-facilitys-water-entered-tampa-bay-after-hurricane-2024-10-11/ |title=Mosaic says fertilizer waste facility's water entered Tampa Bay after Hurricane Milton |work=[[Reuters]] |date=11 October 2024 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hanrahan |first=Ryan |url=https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2024/10/hurricane-milton-to-disrupt-phosphate-production/ |title=Hurricane Milton To Disrupt Phosphate Production |work=farmpolicynews.illinois.edu |date=10 October 2024 |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Zavala  |first=Taylor |url=https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2615784-hurricane-milton-to-further-disrupt-phosphate-output |title=Hurricane Milton to further disrupt phosphate output |work=www.argusmedia.com |date=7 October 2024 |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/florida-fertilizer-plants-grain-mills-close-hurricane-milton-nears-2024-10-09/ |title=Florida fertilizer plants, grain mills close as Hurricane Milton nears |work=[[Reuters]] |date=9 October 2024 |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Zimmerman |first=Sarah |url=https://www.agriculturedive.com/news/hurricane-milton-farm-citrus-fertilizer-impact/729338/ |title=Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida’s Citrus Belt: The life-threatening storm could also wreak havoc on the state’s phosphate industry, keeping fertilizer prices elevated. |work=www.agriculturedive.com |date=9 October 2024 |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref>

==== Climate change ====
Tampa Bay, like [[Climate change in Florida|other parts of Florida]], is extremely vulnerable to [[sea level rise]] caused by climate change.<ref name=":0" /> The sea level has risen {{convert|8|inches}} since 1946.<ref name=":0" /> Tampa Bay is also one of the areas in the US most at risk when hurricanes arrive because of its location, growing population, and the geography of the bay.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Resnick |first=Brian |date=2019-09-11 |title=26 feet of water: What the worst-case hurricane scenario looks like for Tampa Bay |url=https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/9/11/18485563/hurricane-florida-climate-change-tampa |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=Vox}}</ref>{{explain|date=November 2022}}

The Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition coordinates the region's response to climate change.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wilson|first=Kirby|date=February 22, 2019|title=Climate change is here. Will Tampa Bay finally get ready?|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/climate-change-is-here-will-tampa-bay-finally-get-ready-20190222/|access-date=2020-02-16|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en}}</ref> Communities throughout the Bay, including [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] and [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] are adapting infrastructure and buildings to face changes in sea level.<ref name=":0" />

==Human habitation==
[[File:1757 Celi.jpg|right|thumb|Earliest known detailed map of Tampa Bay, by Don Francisco Maria Celi of the [[Spanish Navy|Spanish Royal Fleet]], 1757. Map is oriented with east at the top. Pinellas peninsula is at bottom, Tampa peninsula in middle, Hillsborough River shown extending into the interior at top left.]]

===Early inhabitants===
{{See also|Indigenous peoples of Florida|Tocobaga}}

Humans have lived in Florida for millennia, at least 14,000 years. Due to worldwide glaciation, sea levels were much lower at the time, and Florida's peninsula extended almost 60 miles west of today's coastline. [[Paleo-Indians|Paleo-Indian]] sites have been found near rivers and lakes in northern Florida, leading to speculation that these first Floridians also lived on Tampa Bay when it was still a freshwater lake.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/aucilla11_1/milanich.htm|title=Florida's Indians|publisher=ufl.edu|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152823/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/aucilla11_1/milanich.htm|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> Evidence of human habitation from this early period has been found at the Harney Flats site, which is approximately 10 miles east of the current location of Tampa's downtown waterfront.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00020/27j|title=Florida anthropologist|publisher=ufl.edu|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222051225/http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00020/27j|archive-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

The earliest evidence of human habitation directly on the shores of Tampa Bay comes from the [[Manasota culture]], a variant of the [[Weeden Island culture]], who lived in the area beginning around 5,000–6,000 years ago, after sea levels had risen to near modern levels and the bay was connected to the Gulf of Mexico.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.co.pinellas.fl.us/BCC/yatki/manasota.htm |title=Manasota |publisher=Co.pinellas.fl.us |access-date=2010-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051738/http://www.co.pinellas.fl.us/BCC/yatki/manasota.htm |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> This culture, which relied almost exclusively on the bay for food and other resources, was in turn replaced by the similar [[Safety Harbor culture]] by approximately 800 AD. The pre-contact Indigenous nation most associated with the Tampa Bay are the historic [[Tocobaga]] nation,<ref>{{cite web |author=((Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida)) |title=Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay |url=http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/lessons/tocobag/tocobag1.htm |website=Exploring Florida |publisher=University of South Florida |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> who are known to be among the ancestors of the contemporary Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Florida.<ref>{{cite web |last1=SemTribe |title=The Ancestors |url=https://www.semtribe.com/stof/history/the-seminole-ancestors |website=Seminole Tribe of Florida |publisher=Seminole Tribe |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909154143/https://www.semtribe.com/stof/history/the-seminole-ancestors |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===European exploration===
{{See also|Narváez expedition|Hernando de Soto#De Soto's exploration of North America|Spanish Florida}}

The Safety Harbor culture was dominant in the area at the time of first contact with Europeans in the mid-1500s. The [[Tocobaga]], who built their [[Safety Harbor site|principal town]] near today's [[Safety Harbor, Florida|Safety Harbor]] in the northwest corner of Old Tampa Bay, are the most documented group from that era because they had the most interactions with [[Spanish Florida|Spanish explorers]]. However, there were many other coastal villages organized into various small chiefdoms all around the bay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/lessons/tocobag/tocobag1.htm |title=Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay |publisher=Fcit.usf.edu |access-date=2010-04-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406053704/http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/lessons/tocobag/tocobag1.htm |archive-date=2010-04-06 }}</ref>

Not finding gold or silver in the vicinity and unable to convert the native inhabitants to Christianity, the Spanish did not remain in the Tampa Bay area for long. However, [[History of smallpox#Epidemics in the Americas|diseases they introduced]] decimated the native population over the ensuing decades,<ref>Hann, John H. (2003). ''Indians of Central and South Florida: 1513-1763''. University Press of Florida. {{ISBN|0-8130-2645-8}}</ref> leading to the near-total collapse of every established culture across peninsular Florida. Between this depopulation and the indifference of its colonial owners, the Tampa Bay region would be virtually uninhabited for almost 200 years.

Tampa Bay was given different names by early mapmakers. Spanish maps dated from 1584 identifies Tampa Bay as '''''Baya de Spirito Santo''''' ("Bay of the [[Holy Spirit]]").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1584o6.jpg |title=University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscript Library: 1584 map of La Florida |access-date=April 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114181322/http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1584o6.jpg |archive-date=January 14, 2009 }}</ref> A map dated 1695 identifies the area as '''''Bahia Tampa'''''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1695c6.jpg |title=University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscript Library: 1695 Spanish Map |access-date=April 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624152536/http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1695c6.jpg |archive-date=June 24, 2009 }}</ref> Later maps dated 1794<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Florida/Florid1794a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl |title=Historical Map Archive: The Peninsula and Gulf of Florida, or New Bahama Channel, with the Bahama Islands |access-date=April 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214120512/http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States%2FFlorida%2FFlorid1794a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name%2CDescription%29%2Ccat%28Name%2CDescription%29&style=simple%2Fview-dhtml.xsl |archive-date=February 14, 2009 }}</ref> and 1800<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1800e8.jpg |title=University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscript Library: An exact map of North and South Carolina & Georgia, with East and West Florida |access-date=April 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601002829/http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1800e8.jpg |archive-date=June 1, 2010 }}</ref> show the bay divided with three different names, '''''Tampa Bay''''' west of the Interbay peninsula and '''''Hillsboro Bay''''' on the east with an overall name of '''''Bay of Spiritu Santo'''''. At other times, the entire bay was identified as '''The Bay of Tocobaga.'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swanton |first1=John R. |title=De Soto's First Headquarters in Florida |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |date=April 1952 |volume=30 |issue=4 |page=311 |url=http://palmm.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A22345 |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref>

===United States control===
{{See also|History of Tampa, Florida|History of Florida}}

The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821. The name ''Spirito Santo'' seems to have disappeared from maps of the region in favor of "Tampa Bay" (sometimes divided into Tampa and Hillsboro Bays) soon after the US established [[Fort Brooke]] at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Florida/Florid1833a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl | title=Historical Map Archive: 1933 Map of Florida by A. Finley, Philadelphia | access-date=April 27, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214125814/http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States%2FFlorida%2FFlorid1833a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item%28Name%2CDescription%29%2Ccat%28Name%2CDescription%29&style=simple%2Fview-dhtml.xsl | archive-date=February 14, 2009 }}</ref> For the next several decades, during the [[Seminole Wars]], the Tampa Bay would be a primary point of confrontation, detention, and forced expulsion of the Seminole & Miccosukee people of Florida. Fort Brooke,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Morrow |first1=Emerald |title='We're not extinct': Seminole Tribe of Florida highlights Tampa history for Indigenous People's Day |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/seminole-tribe-of-florida-tampa-indigenous-peoples-day |publisher=Channel 10 News, Tampa Bay |access-date=9 September 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Fort Dade, and the American military's miscellaneous Egmont Key facilities <ref>{{cite web |last1=Guzzo |first1=Paul |title=Seminole Tribe searches for remains of ancestors on Egmont Key |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/seminole-tribe-searches-for-remains-of-ancestors-on-egmont-key/2317695/ |website=The Tampa Bay Times |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Guzzo |first1=Paul |title=They can't turn back waves, but USF and Seminoles are preserving Egmont Key in digital form |url=https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/05/17/they-cant-turn-back-waves-but-usf-and-seminoles-are-preserving-egmont-key-in-digital-form/ |website=The Tampa Bay Times |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> were the primary sites associated with the removal of the Seminole in the Floridian leg of the [[Trail of Tears]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simpson |first1=Linda |title=Seminole Trails of Tears |url=http://www.seminolenation-indianterritory.org/trailoftears.htm |website=Seminole Nation, Indian Territory |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Brian |first1=Bill |title=National Wildlife Refuges Along the Trail of Tears |url=https://www.fws.gov/story/national-wildlife-refuges-along-trail-tears |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |date=16 February 2022 |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>

For the next 100 years, many new communities were founded around the bay. Fort Brooke begat [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] on the northeast shore, Fort Harrison (a minor military outpost on Florida's west coast) begat [[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]], the trading post of "Braden's Town" developed into [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton]] on the south, and [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] grew quickly after its founding in the late 19th century, on the western bay shore opposite Tampa. By 2010, the [[Tampa Bay Area]] was home to over 4&nbsp;million residents.

=== Transportation ===
====By sea====
As Tampa began to grow in the mid-1800s, roads across central Florida were still just rough trails and rail lines did not yet extend down the Florida peninsula, so the most convenient means of traveling to and from the area was by sea. By the late 19th century, however, the shallow nature of Tampa Bay made it impossible for large modern vessels with deeper drafts to reach the city of Tampa's downtown wharves on Hillsboro Bay. Most ships would anchor well out from shore and transfer cargo and passengers to and from the city in smaller boats.<ref name="usf.edu"/>

[[Henry B. Plant]]'s [[Plant System|railroad line]] reached the area in 1884 and ran across the Interbay Peninsula to Old Tampa Bay, where he built the town and shipping facility of [[Port Tampa, Tampa|Port Tampa]] at its terminus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plantmuseum.com/henry-plant-museum/southern-empire|title=Henry Plant's Southern Empire|work=plantmuseum.com|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403214523/http://plantmuseum.com/henry-plant-museum/southern-empire|archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> In 1898, Plant used his connections in the federal government to make Port Tampa a major embarkation point for the U.S. Army during the [[Spanish–American War]], leading to the U.S. Congress appropriating funds for the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] to begin the first large dredging operation in Tampa Bay. A deep shipping channel was created which linked Port Tampa to the mouth of the bay, enabling Plant to greatly expand his [[steamship]] line.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baysoundings.com/legacy-archives/wint06/channel.html|title=Corps, Port Consider Channel Widening Options|publisher=Baysoundings.com|access-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150907231539/http://baysoundings.com/legacy-archives/wint06/channel.html|archive-date=7 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://plantmuseum.com/henry-plant-museum/the-war|title=The Spanish–American War|work=plantmuseum.com|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217165242/http://plantmuseum.com/henry-plant-museum/the-war|archive-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In 1917, the Corps of Engineers dredged another channel from the mouth of Tampa Bay to the Port of Tampa, instantly making the city an important shipping center.

The Corps of Engineers currently maintains more than 80 miles of deep-water channels in Tampa Bay up to a depth of 47 feet. These must be continuously re-dredged and deepened due to the sandy nature of the bay bottom. While dredging has enabled seaborne commerce to become an important part of the Tampa Bay area's economy, it has also damaged the bay's water quality and ecology. More care has been taken in recent decades to lessen the environmental impact of dredging.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tbep.org/pdfs/ctc/Dredging-and-Dredged-Material-Management.pdf |title=Dredging and Dredged: Material Management |access-date=2015-03-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093406/http://www.tbep.org/pdfs/ctc/Dredging-and-Dredged-Material-Management.pdf |archive-date=2015-04-02 }}</ref> Dredged material has also been used to create several spoil islands on the eastern side of Hillsboro Bay. These islands have become important nesting sites for many seabirds, including threatened species such as [[oystercatcher]]s, and have been designated as "sanctuary islands" that are off-limits to boaters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fl.audubon.org/sanctuary-islands|title=Sanctuary Islands|work=audubon.org|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402175152/http://fl.audubon.org/sanctuary-islands|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="dredgewithcare">{{cite web |url=http://tbo.com/news/business/port-tampa-bay-has-to-dredge-with-care-in-nesting-season-20150411/ |title=Port Tampa Bay has to dredge with care in nesting season |work=Tampa Tribune |date=12 April 2015 |access-date=12 April 2015 |author=Hammett, Yvette |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226052618/http://www.tbo.com/news/business/port-tampa-bay-has-to-dredge-with-care-in-nesting-season-20150411/ |archive-date=26 February 2016 }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="155px">
File:Tampa Bay, Florida, by Field, J. C., b. 1845.jpg|Tampa's waterfront, 1890.
File:Atlantic Coast Line railroad company terminal at the Port of Tampa, Florida (10977712996).jpg|[[Port Tampa]], c. 1900.
File:Port of Tampa.JPG|Facilities at [[Port Tampa Bay]] from [[Davis Islands (Tampa)|Davis Islands]], [[downtown Tampa]] at left
</gallery>

=====Ports on Tampa Bay=====
* '''[[Port Tampa Bay]]''' (known as the '''Port of Tampa''' until 2014): Oldest port on Tampa Bay, can trace its roots to the wharves of [[Fort Brooke]] in the 1820s. Currently centered east and southeast of downtown Tampa on Hillsboro and McKay Bays. Largest port in Florida; 10th largest in the nation. Port Tampa Bay accommodates half of Florida's [[cargo]] in the form of bulk, [[roll-on/roll-off]], refrigerated and container cargo, and petroleum products.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/port-of-tampa-unveils-new-55-million-petroleum-terminal/2149912/|title=Port of Tampa will fuel region with new $56 million petroleum terminal|work=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924135558/http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/port-of-tampa-unveils-new-55-million-petroleum-terminal/2149912|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> Home to extensive ship repair and building industry and several [[cruise ship]] terminals.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Tampa Port Authority|url=http://www.tampaport.com/about-port-tampa-bay.aspx|access-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916041116/http://www.tampaport.com/about-port-tampa-bay.aspx|archive-date=16 September 2015}}</ref>
* '''[[Port Tampa]]''': Established in 1885 by [[Henry B. Plant]] at the terminus of the [[Plant System]] railroad line on the eastern shore of Old Tampa Bay. Eclipsed in tonnage and importance by the Port of Tampa in the early 1900s, but still an important arrival point for [[aviation fuel]] which is piped to nearby [[Tampa International Airport]] and [[MacDill Air Force Base]].
* '''[[Port Manatee]]''': Located on the southern shore of Lower Tampa Bay. Most refrigerated dockside space of any Gulf of Mexico port. Ranked fifth among Florida's fourteen seaports in total annual cargo tonnage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portmanatee.com/About-Us/Port-Facts|title=Port Facts|publisher=portmanatee.com|access-date=12 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402162713/http://www.portmanatee.com/About-Us/Port-Facts|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>
* '''The [[Port of St. Petersburg]]''': Located on the [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] waterfront on Old Tampa Bay and operated by the city. Smallest of Florida's ports, caters mainly to private vessels. Site of [[U.S. Coast Guard]] station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stpete.org/parks_and_recreation/marina/the_port.php|title=Port St. Pete - St. Petersburg|website=www.stpete.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401012222/http://www.stpete.org/parks_and_recreation/marina/the_port.php|archive-date=2015-04-01}}</ref>

====By land====
[[File:SunshineSkyway ALB.jpg|thumb|The [[Sunshine Skyway]] from its southern approach, [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] in the distance.]]

In the early 20th century, traveling overland between the growing communities around Tampa Bay was an arduous process. The trip between Tampa and St. Petersburg was almost {{convert|50|mi|km}} around the north end of Old Tampa Bay and took up to 12 hours by train and over a full day over uncertain roads by car.<ref name="smith">{{cite web | url=https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/early_years/early_years01.cfm | title=The World's First Scheduled Airline | publisher=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | date=2007 | access-date=23 August 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002094011/https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/early_years/early_years01.cfm | archive-date=2 October 2015 }}</ref><ref name="FHQ">{{cite journal | jstor=3014618 | title=The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line | author=Provenzo. Jr. , Eugene F. | journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |date=July 1979  | volume=58 | issue=1 | pages=72–77}}</ref> The trip between St. Petersburg and Bradenton was even longer – over {{convert|70|mi|km}} all the way around Tampa Bay, a trip that still took about two hours into the 1950s.<ref name="sunshine">{{cite news | url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/spectacular-sunshine-skyway-replaced-ferryboats-in-1954/1045440 | title=Spectacular Sunshine Skyway replaced ferryboats in 1954 | work=Tampa Bay Times | date=20 October 2009 | access-date=23 August 2015 | author=Blizin, Jerry | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151912/http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/spectacular-sunshine-skyway-replaced-ferryboats-in-1954/1045440 | archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref>

In 1924, the [[Gandy Bridge]] over Old Tampa Bay reduced the driving distance between Tampa and St. Petersburg to {{convert|19|mi|km}}.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F-0NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BnYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5443%2C842399 George Gandy Sr. Made $1,932,000 Span Possible] St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 1956</ref> Ten years later, the Davis Causeway (later renamed the [[Courtney Campbell Causeway]]) was built between Clearwater and Tampa. More bridges criss-crossed Tampa Bay over the ensuing decades, making travel between the surrounding communities much faster and furthering the economic development of the Tampa Bay area.

=====Bridges that cross Tampa Bay=====
* '''[[Sunshine Skyway Bridge]]''': Opened 1954. Spans Lower Tampa Bay from [[Bradenton, Florida|Bradenton]] on the south to St. Petersburg on the north, greatly reducing travel times between Manatee and Pinellas Counties. Part of [[Interstate 275 (Florida)|I-275]] & [[U.S. Route 19 in Florida|US 19]].
* '''[[Gandy Bridge]]''': Opened 1924 (first roadway bridge over Tampa Bay). Spans Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to St. Petersburg on the west. Part of [[U.S. Route 92]].
* '''[[Howard Frankland Bridge]]''': Opened 1960. Spans middle of Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to St. Pete on the west. Part of [[Interstate 275 (Florida)|I-275]].
*'''[[Courtney Campbell Causeway]]''': Opened 1934. Spans northern Old Tampa Bay from Tampa on the east to Clearwater on the west. Part of [[Florida State Road 60]].
* '''[[Bayside Bridge (Pinellas County, Florida)|Bayside Bridge]]''': Opened 1993. Runs roughly parallel to the western shore of Old Tampa Bay from [[Largo, Florida|Largo]] / St. Petersburg on the south to Clearwater on the north. Built to help relieve traffic congestion on nearby [[U.S. Route 19 in Florida|US-19]].
* [[U.S. Route 41 Business (Tampa, Florida)|'''22nd Street Causeway''']]: Opened 1926. Bridge portion spans the mouth of McKay Bay near Port Tampa Bay. Part of [[U.S. Route 41 in Florida|U.S. Route 41]].

====By air====
[[File:Benoist xiv.jpg|thumb|[[Tony Jannus]] piloting the world's [[St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line|first scheduled airline service]] over Tampa Bay, 1914. The aircraft is a [[Benoist XIV]].]]

The difficulty of traveling between Tampa and St. Petersburg in the early 20th century inspired the world's first scheduled air service, the [[St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line]], which operated during the tourist season of 1914.<ref name="smith"/><ref name="FHQ"/>

While the construction of bridges made air travel across Tampa Bay unnecessary, several airports have been built along the shoreline. [[Albert Whitted Airport]] on the St. Petersburg waterfront and [[Peter O. Knight Airport]] on [[Davis Islands (Tampa)|Davis Island]] near downtown Tampa were both established in the 1930s. Later, [[Tampa International Airport]] and [[St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport]] were established on opposite sides of Old Tampa Bay, and [[MacDill Air Force Base]] opened on the southern tip of Tampa's Interbay Peninsula.

==See also==
* [[Climate of the Tampa Bay area]]
* [[History of Tampa]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tampa Bay}}
{{NSRW Poster}}
* [http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/ Tampa Bay Water Atlas]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100303021650/http://www.protectingourwater.org/watersheds/map/tampa_bay/ Tampa Bay Watershed – Florida DEP]}}

{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Tampa Bay Area}}
{{Coastal Waters of Florida}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tampa Bay| ]]
[[Category:Bays of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico]]
[[Category:Estuaries of Florida]]
[[Category:Geography of the Tampa Bay area| ]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Hillsborough County, Florida]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Manatee County, Florida]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Pinellas County, Florida]]
[[Category:Red tide]]
[[Category:Eutrophication]]