Lake Miccosukee

Coordinates: 30°34′15″N 83°58′45″W / 30.5707°N 83.9791°W / 30.5707; -83.9791
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee, Florida
Location of Lake Miccosukee in Florida, USA.
Location of Lake Miccosukee in Florida, USA.
Lake Miccosukee
Location of Lake Miccosukee in Florida, USA.
Location of Lake Miccosukee in Florida, USA.
Lake Miccosukee
LocationJefferson / Leon counties, Florida, United States
Coordinates30°34′15″N 83°58′45″W / 30.5707°N 83.9791°W / 30.5707; -83.9791
Typeprairie lake
Basin countriesUnited States

Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County. The small town of Miccosukee, Florida is located on the north eastern shore of the lake in Leon County.

The lake is named after the Miccosukee Indians.[1]

Characteristics

Lake Miccosukee forms the northern border between

Floridan Aquifer
as the caverns beneath the sink reach into the aquifer.

History

Early history

Lake Miccosukee was a natural

cotton plantations
.

Later history

Lake Miccosukee's descriptions have changed through time, particularly in regard to coverage of the lake's surface with

grass and buttonbushes
projecting above the water. Aerial photographs taken in 1976 and 1988 show a plant-clogged lake. Only 19.4% of the lake was open water.

Around the late 1940s, aquatic plant coverage of the lake's surface varied as the basin periodically emptied and refilled on a 10 year cycle. This is a natural cycle for lakes of this type in northern Florida such as Lake Iamonia and

Lake Jackson
in Leon County. As aquatic vegetation grew back, more and more of the lake's surface gradually became overgrown with plant life. More extensive restoration could have created deep areas within the lake and future open water habitats, but permits could not be obtained form the Forestry Service to allow fires to burn the muck deposits within the lake. There was concern that smoke from the fires could cause traffic accidents on Highway 90 which crosses the lake system at its south end.

In 1954, an earthen dike, concrete spillway, and gate was built around the sinkhole to keep the lake from drying naturally as it had done in previous years as a prairie lake. At the southern end of the lake, a

sport fishing
.

Restoration

In 1999, a drought struck northern Florida and part of the lake was allowed to drain into the aquifer. The lake was excavated in many places and most of the lake bottom was burned during the draw-down to get rid of the

muck. Restoration provides for healthy populations of fish and other wild life. Further restoration could have occurred creating deeper areas within the lake. The Florida Forestry Service could not obtain fire permits with concerns of traffic accidents on nearby U.S. Highway 90
.

Recreation

Lake Miccosukee provides

Miccosukee gooseberry
(Ribes echinellum) can be found on two places on the shores of Lake Miccosukee.

References