Lake Okeechobee | Location & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos Lake Okeechobee Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Images Quizzes Water and its Varying Forms Contents Geography & Travel Physical Geography of Water Lakes CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Okeechobee Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

• World Lake Database - Lake Okeechobee, Florida, United States
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Lake Okeechobee
• University of Florida - IFAS Extesion - Managing High Water Levels in Florida�s Largest Lake: Lake Okeechobee
• Florida State University - College of Law - The Failure and Future of Lake Okeechobee Water Releases: A Quasi-Governmental Solution
• South Florida Water Management District - Lake Okeechobee

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• Lake Okeechobee - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Lake Okeechobee - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Lake Okeechobee lake, Florida, United States Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

Lake Okeechobee, lake in southeastern Florida, U.S., and the third largest freshwater lake wholly within the country (after Lake Michigan 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.

Britannica Quiz Water and its Varying Forms The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.