Lake Okeechobee - Okeechobee, Florida - Natural Lakes on Waymarking.com

The photos were taken at the north end of the lake, at an obervation pier near the city of Okeechobee, Florida. One look at the map of Florida and the lake stands out due to its size. A great deal of sugar cane is grown in the area and the runoff from farming has affected the lake.

"Lake Okeechobee sits in a shallow geological trough that also underlies the Kissimmee River Valley and the Everglades. The trough is underlain by clay deposits that compacted more than the limestone and sand deposits did along both coasts of peninsular Florida. Until about 6,000 years ago, the trough was dry land. As the sea level rose, the water table in Florida also rose, and rainfall increased. From 6,000 to 4,000 years ago wetlands formed in much of what is now the lake, building up peat deposits. Eventually the water flow into the area created a lake, drowning the wetlands. Along what is now the southern edge of the lake, however, the wetlands built up the layers of peat rapidly enough (eventually reaching 13 feet (4.0 m) to 14 feet (4.3 m) thick) to form a dam, holding back the water in the lake until it rose high enough to the flow over the shore into the Everglades. At its capacity, the lake holds 1 trillion gallons (1,000,000,000,000) of water and is the headwaters of the Everglades." source (visit link)

When I was a child we used to visit the lake on occasion on family vacations. It was always amazing to me to see the water stretch out to the horizon and beyond. There are a lot more people in the area than the 1950s, but I hope that children can still see the lake and have the same joy of discovery. My memory is that the observation pier we used to visit on the south shore had a clearer view than this one on the north shore, but it is still a great sight.

Lake Type: Rift lake Coordinates location: Observation Pier Max. Length: 35 miles Max. Width: 25 miles Max. Depth: 15 feet Surface area: 700 square miles Parking / trail head: N 27° 11.766 W 080° 49.828 Website: Not listed

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