8 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Florida's Lakes 💦
Celebrating Florida's Lakes for Lake Appreciation Month
July is Lakes Appreciation Month. No worries if you didn’t know. Your local body of water wasn’t expecting a gift.
Everything from pirates to popcorn gets an appreciation day/week/month these days, but as a water enthusiast, I was genuinely amused to see lakes get a special callout.
The North American Lake Management Society has been celebrating this event since 1998 to bring awareness to the value and importance lakes have in our lives.
To celebrate Florida’s lakes, here is a smattering of fun facts. You’re welcome if it helps you win your next Trivia Night.
4200 - Amount of natural lakes in Florida, as cited by the St. John’s River Water Management District. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection lists the number as 7700 but doesn’t define what it considers a lake. Could be a retention pond or could be 3 acres.
Lake Okeechobee - We all know this is Florida’s largest lake, but it also ranks 2nd largest in the contiguous United States. Despite being so big, its average depth is only 12 feet.
Lake County - In North Central Florida, named for all that water in its boundaries: 250 named lakes!
Deep Lake - Another creatively named resource, this lake located in Big Cypress National Preserve is - you guessed it - the deepest lake in Florida at 90 feet deep. The top half is freshwater while the lower half is saltwater!
Alligators - How can you tell if someone’s not from Florida? They ask if an alligator is in the lake. Native Floridians know alligators live in EVERY body of water in the state and their parents probably had one as a pet (guilty… my mom is from Lake County).
Sinkholes - Many lakes in Florida are the result of sinkholes, filled from below by the Floridan Aquifer. Orlando’s Lake Eola is an example.
Seven Seas Lagoon - Not a real lake. This Walt Disney World icon borders Bay Lake (a natural lake) and was created to hold excess water from the swamp that Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and all the other -lands were built on. The excavated dirt from the lake was used to build up the base of Magic Kingdom to cover the underground cast tunnels.
Coastal Dune Lakes - Rare lakes only found in 4 countries. In Florida, all 15 coastal dune lakes can be found in Walton and Bay counties (panhandle). They were formed 5,000-10,000 years ago when freshwater got trapped behind coastal dunes separating them from the ocean.