The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long. It drains rural areas on the northern edge of the Everglades, east of Fort Myers. An important link in the Okeechobee Waterway, a manmade inland waterway system of southern Florida, the river forms a tidal estuary along most of its course and has recently become the subject of efforts to restore and preserve the Everglades.DescriptionThe river issues from Lake Hicpochee, in southeastern Glades County, approximately 10mi west of Clewiston. It flows west-southwest past LaBelle, where it becomes tidal, forming an estuary along its lower 25mi. It broadens as it nears the gulf, passing Fort Myers and Cape Coral. It enters the Gulf of Mexico 10mi southwest of Fort Myers in San Carlos Bay, protected by Sanibel Island.
