Okeechobee, Lake

Okeechobee, Lake
Lake, south-central Florida, U.S. It is the largest lake in the southern U.S. and the third largest freshwater lake wholly within the country.

It drains to the sea through the Everglades. It is a remnant of the prehistoric Pamlico Sea, and its name means "Big Water" in the language of the Seminole Indians, who still live on the lake's northwestern shore.

* * *

 lake in southeastern Florida, U.S., and the third largest freshwater lake wholly within the country (after Lake Michigan (Michigan, Lake) and Iliamna Lake, Alaska). The lake lies about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of West Palm Beach at the northern edge of the Everglades. A remnant of the prehistoric Pamlico Sea, which once occupied the entire basin including the Everglades, it bears the Hitchiti Indian name for “big water.”

      The lake is about 35 miles (55 km) long with a shoreline of 135 miles (220 km) and, including several small islands, covers an area of about 730 square miles (1,900 square km). The surface is 12.5 to 15.5 feet (4 to 5 metres) above mean sea level, depending upon the water level in the lake, and the average depth is 10 to 12 feet (3 to 4 metres). The chief source is the Kissimmee River watershed, immediately to the north, which drains into a chain of lakes that in turn empties into the Kissimmee River as it flows southward to Lake Okeechobee. Before the construction of adequate levees and a regulatory outlet system, the overflow produced by the rainy season flooded surrounding areas and spilled over southward into the Everglades. Lake communities include Pahokee, Belle Glade, South Bay, Clewiston, and Okeechobee. A Seminole reservation is near the northwestern shore of the lake.

      Attempts to drain the lake, all unsuccessful, date from the 1880s. State and federal flood control and reclamation projects were begun after hurricane winds flooded the area in 1926 and 1928, and some 140 miles (225 km) of levees were constructed around the lake. A large area of the Everglades immediately south of the lake was drained for farmland, particularly sugarcane. A 155-mile (250-km) cross-state waterway, from Stuart on the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lucie Canal across Lake Okeechobee and down the Caloosahatchee River to the Gulf of Mexico, was completed in 1937. By the late 20th century it was recognized that such water-management measures were having a detrimental effect on the ecosystem of the Everglades region, spurring restoration efforts.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Okeechobee,Lake — O·kee·cho·bee (ō kĭ chōʹbē), Lake A lake of southeast Florida north of the Everglades. It is a link in the Okeechobee Waterway, or Cross Florida Waterway, a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The waterway is used by small… …   Universalium

  • Okeechobee, Lake — geographical name lake 37 miles (60 kilometers) long S central Florida …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Okeechobee, Lake — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Hampton Inn Okeechobee - Lake Okeechobee — (Okeechobee,США) Категория отеля: 2 звездочный отель Адрес: 1200 Stat …   Каталог отелей

  • Lake Okeechobee — Infobox lake lake name = Lake Okeechobee image lake = Okeechobee lake.jpg caption lake = from space, September 1988 image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = location = Florida coords = coord|26|56|N|80|48|W|type:waterbody region:US… …   Wikipedia

  • lake — lake1 /layk/, n. 1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land. 2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil. 3. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.) [bef. 1000; ME lak(e) …   Universalium

  • Lake — /layk/, n. Simon, 1866 1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect. * * * I Relatively large body of slow moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly …   Universalium

  • Lake George (Florida) — Infobox lake lake name = Lake George image lake = caption lake = image bathymetry = caption bathymetry = location = Florida coords = coord|29|17|12|N|81|35|53|W|region:US FL type:waterbody|display=inline,title type = inflow = Salt Creek, Silver… …   Wikipedia

  • Okeechobee County, Florida — The Okeechobee County Judicial Center, in Okeechobee …   Wikipedia

  • Okeechobee Battlefield — U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”