The origin of the river's name is not known definitively. In 1839 the spelling was recorded as “Econ-like Hatchee”. It is theorized that this represents a Muscogee name meaning “earth-mound stream”, with “econ-like” coming from ēkvnv (/iːkaná/), ‘earth, land’, and like (/léyki/), ‘sitting’, plus hvcce (/háčči/), ‘stream’.[5]
The upper course of the river is called the Econlockhatchee River Swamp. Located southeast of Orlando, the swamp is 21 kilometres (13 mi) long, from Lake Conlin to State Road 528. South of State Road 532, the swamp is known as Cat Island Swamp, named after an island near County Road 500A. The river is at its widest (1.6 km) here, bordered by Lake Preston to the west. Seven miles downstream, the river's elevation is 19 metres (62 ft). The Disston Canal joins Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart to the swamp. Turkey Creek Bay is an arm of the swamp, through which the tributary Turkey Creek flows. North of Wewahootee Road, the Econlockhatchee River leaves the swamp and remains a free-flowing river for the rest of its journey to the St. Johns River.
^ ab(2013-01-02). "Econlockhatchee River". Saint Johns River Water Management District. Retrieved on 2014-08-04.
^U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National MapArchived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 21, 2011
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