Lake Okeechobee
from space, September 1988
Location	Florida
Coordinates	26°56′N 80°48′WCoordinates: 26°56′N 80°48′W
Primary sources	Taylor Creek, Kissimmee River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	730 sq mi (1,900 km²)
Average depth	9 ft (2.7 m)
Max. depth	12 ft (3.7 m)

View of Lake Okeechobee from Pahokee.

Lake Okeechobee, (IPA: /okɪtʃobi/) locally referred to as Lake O or The Big Lake is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-largest freshwater lake wholly within the continental United States, second only to Lake Michigan and the largest in the southern United States.^[1] Okeechobee covers 4730 square miles (1,890 km²) and is relatively shallow, with an average depth of only 9 feet (3 m). The lake covers land in Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, and Hendry counties. Maps of Florida show that all five of these counties meet at a point near the center of the lake. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (640x633, 163 KB)Lake Okeechobee, Florida, United States - September 1988 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Taylor Creek may refer to: Taylor-Massey Creek (Don), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Taylor Creek (Seattle), Seattle, Washington Category: ... The Kissimmee River is a river in southern Florida, USA. Together with a chain of lakes, it forms the headwaters of the Kissimee-Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 102 KB) View looking across Lake Okeechobee from Pahokee, Florida January 26, 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 102 KB) View looking across Lake Okeechobee from Pahokee, Florida January 26, 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Pahokee is a city located in Palm Beach County, Florida. ... For other uses, see Lake (disambiguation). ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. ... Glades County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ... Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. ... Martin County is a county located in the state of Florida. ... Palm Beach County is a county located in the state of Florida. ... Hendry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. ...

The name Okeechobee comes from the Hitchiti words "oki" (water) and "chubi" (big), and literally means "big water". It was also previously called Macaco and Mayaimi, the latter being the origin of the name of the city Miami, Florida by way of the Miami River.^[2] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Approximate territory of the Mayaimi tribe The Mayaimis were a tribe of Native Americans who lived around Lake Okeechobee in Florida from the beginning of the Common Era until the 17th or 18th Century. ... Miami redirects here. ... The Miami River in Florida drains out of the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami, Florida from Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay. ...

The floor of the lake is a limestone basin, and the lake varies in depth from 1 to 12 feet (0.3 to 4 m), its water being somewhat murky from nutrient-enriched runoff from surrounding farmlands. The surface is above sea level, and the lake is enclosed by a 20-foot (6 m) high dike built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after a hurricane in 1928 breached the old dike, flooding surrounding communities and claiming thousands of lives. There are several inflows, including Taylor Creek and the Kissimmee River, and several small outlets, such as the Miami River, the New River on the east, and the Caloosahatchee River (via the Caloosahatchee Canal and Lake Hicpochee) on the southwest. For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... A nutrient is a substance used in an organisms metabolism which must be taken in from the environment. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Lowest pressure 929 mbar (hPa; 27. ... Taylor Creek may refer to: Taylor-Massey Creek (Don), Toronto, Ontario, Canada Taylor Creek (Seattle), Seattle, Washington Category: ... The Kissimmee River is a river in southern Florida, USA. Together with a chain of lakes, it forms the headwaters of the Kissimee-Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem. ... The Miami River in Florida drains out of the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami, Florida from Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay. ... The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately 75 mi (121 long). ...

History

Okeechobee is thought to have been formed out of the ocean about 6,000 years ago when the waters receded. [1]

Hurricanes

In 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane hit the Lake Okeechobee area killing approximately 300 people. Two years later in 1928, the Okeechobee Hurricane crossed over the lake killing thousands. The Red Cross reported a figure of 1,836 deaths which the National Weather Service initially accepted; but in 2003, the number was revised to "at least 2,500" [2]. In both cases the catastrophe was caused by flooding from a storm surge when strong winds drove water over the 6-foot (2 m) mud dike that circled the lake at the time. The Great Miami Hurricane (sometimes called the Big Blow) was a destructive and intense hurricane that battered Miami, Florida in 1926. ... Duration: Sept. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The National Weather Service (NWS) is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States government. ... Impact of a storm surge A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. ...

After the two hurricanes, the Florida State Legislature formed the "Okeechobee Flood Control District". The organization was authorized to cooperate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in actions to prevent similar disasters. U.S. President Herbert Hoover visited the area personally, and afterward the Corps designed a new plan incorporating construction of channels, gates, and levees. The Okeechobee Waterway was officially opened on March 23, 1937, when a series of boats left Fort Myers, Florida on March 22 and on the next day arrived at Stuart, Florida. United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964), the thirty-first President of the United States (1929–1933), was a world-famous mining engineer and humanitarian administrator. ... Okeechobee Waterway is a man-made waterway stretching from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on the east coast of Florida. ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fort Myers is the home of county seat[3] and commercial center of Lee County, Florida. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Stuart Stuart is a city in Martin County, Florida, on Floridas Treasure Coast. ...

The 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane sent an even larger storm surge nearly over the new dike, causing it to be expanded again in the 1960s. The Fort Lauderdale Hurricane (or Pompano Beach Hurricane or Forgotten Hurricane) was an intense category 5 hurricane that affected Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in September of 1947. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ...

Three recent hurricanes, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Jeanne and Hurricane Wilma, had no major adverse effects on communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee. This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2004; for other storms of the same name, see Hurricane Frances (disambiguation) Lowest pressure 935 mbar (hPa; 27. ... This article deals with the 2004 Hurricane Jeanne. ... Lowest pressure 882 mbar (hPa; 26. ...

National Scenic Trail

The 20 foot (6 m) wide dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee is a part of the Florida Trail, a 1,400 mile long trail that is a National Scenic Trail. There is a well-maintained paved pathway along the entire perimeter used by hikers and bicyclists and wide enough to accommodate authorized vehicles. Hiking the Florida Trail through the Ocala National Forest on the Western Corridor One of eight National Scenic Trails in the United States, the Florida Trail is a 1,400-mile footpath spanning from Big Cypress National Preserve (between Miami and Naples, Florida along the Tamiami Trail) to Fort Pickens... National Scenic Trail is a designation for protected areas in the United States that consist of trails of particular natural beauty. ...

Environmental concerns

In 2007, during a drought, state water and wildlife managers removed thousands of truckloads of toxic mud from the lake's floor, in an effort to return to the lake's natural sandy base and create clearer water and better habitat for wildlife. The mud contained elevated levels of arsenic and other pesticides. According to tests from the South Florida Water Management District, arsenic levels on the northern part of the lake bed were as much as four times the limit for residential land. Independent tests found the mud to be too polluted for use on agricultural or commercial lands, and therefore difficult to even dispose on land.^[3] General Name, Symbol, Number arsenic, As, 33 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 4, p Appearance metallic gray Standard atomic weight 74. ...

The lake in popular culture

Lake Okeechobee is the setting of a climactic scene in Carl Hiaasen's 2002 novel Basket Case (Ch. 28). Carl Hiaasen (IPA pronunciation: ) (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ... Basket Case can refer to: a 1982 film by Frank Henenlotter — see Basket Case (film); or a 1994 song by Green Day — see Basket Case (song); or a 2002 novel by Carl Hiaasen — see Basket Case (novel). ...

Lake Okeechobee is the setting of a significant part of Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, and the movie of the same name. Janie and Tea Cake go there to work "on the muck". Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. ... See also the television film of the same name, Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 television). ... Muck can refer to several different things: An Alternative Rock Band From Baltimore Muck(Band) A type of soil: Muck (soil) An island in Scotland: Muck, Scotland The kayak club of NUIM: MUCK, NUIM Kayak Club In gambling, a number of actions both legal and illegal: Muck (gambling) Other meanings...

References

1. ^ Muller, Peter O. "Lake Okeechobee." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. 12 Jan. 2008 <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar309640>
2. ^ Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). in Mark F. Boyd: Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey. 
3. ^ Polluted Muck Taken from Florida's Lake Okeechobee Prompts Fears on Land

External links

• Google Maps