Lake Okeechobee

The Lake Okeechobee is also called Florida Inland Sea. The Lake Okeechobee is the largest natural fresh water lake in Florida. It is the eighth largest fresh water lake in the world.

History of Lake Okeechobee

The word Okeechobee comes from Hitchiti language. The Hitchiti are the indigenous tribes of the Unites States. They resided in the banks of Chattahoochee River, the present-day Georgia. Oki in Hitchiti means water and chubi means big. The lake was discovered in 16^th century. It was discovered by the Spanish and they called it “Serrope”. Later by 18^th century, it was known to the Britishers as the “Laguna de Espiritu Santo”. In the 19^th century, the lake was called “Mayacco Lake” after the Mayaca people. The name Mayaca was used by the Spanish to refer to the indigenous Americans in Florida. The name is till date preserved by the Mayaca Port in the USA.

Islands in the lake

There are three islands in the southern rim of the lake. They are Kreamer, Torey and Ritta. These islands were once settled by prisoners. The settlements also had school, post office, general stores and town elections. The land was highly fertile. However, it was challenging to cultivate in these lands due to its muddy nature.

Rim Canal

The canal runs along the perimeter of the lake. During the construction of dike (embankment) along the perimeter of the lake, earth was excavated along its perimeter. This created a channel along the perimeter of the lake called the rim canal. The canal is part of the lake in most of the places. However, it is separated in the Kreamer island. Navigating the lake waters is tricky. However, the navigation in rim canal is easy.

Herbert Hoover Dike

The Herbert Hoover Dike is an embankment around the Lake Okeechobee. In 1910s, an earthen embankment was constructed. However, this was breached by the Great Miami Hurricane in 1926. Thus, the dike was constructed. It was constructed during the reign of President Herbert Hoover and is therefore named after him.

Environmental concerns

The arsenic and pesticides level of the lake is high. The arsenic levels in the northern part of the lake bed is four times the residential limit.

How was Lake Okeechobee formed?

The Lake Okeechobee lies in Kissimmee River valley. The trough was dry until 6,000 years ago. The water table in Florida rose as the sea level increased. This increased the rainfall. Around 4,000 years ago, the wetlands in the region built up layers of peat. This formed a dam to hold the lake water. The rain water started flowing into the lake and eventually created the lake. The floor of the lake is made of limestone.