Is Lake Okeechobee Connected to the Ocean?

Is Lake Okeechobee Connected to the Ocean?

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A visit to Lake Okeechobee leaves you with many questions, especially when you hear that fishing here may not be the wisest thing to do.

Is

Lake Okeechobee

connected to the ocean?

Yes, Lake Okeechobee is connected to the ocean, and it runs from the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart and extends to Fort Meyers at the Gulf of Mexico.

The Seminole people named the lake “Okeechobee,” which they derived from their words “Oki,” and “Chubi,” meaning “big water.”

The name fits the lake well.

  They named this lake before the coming of Europeans to that region.

The surface area of the lake is about 730 square miles.

The volume of water in the lake is about one trillion gallons of fresh water.

Its approximately 135 miles of shoreline runs through five different cities.

Some of those island cities were inhabited by farmers in the past, but their ground is so muddy it and difficult for farmers to continue farming on them.

Today these island cities have very few people living in them.

Is Lake Okeechobee connected to the ocean?

Yes,

Lake Okeechobee

is connected to the Ocean.

The

lake is located in the southeastern region of the Florida

peninsula.

This lake is located about 45 miles west of West Palm Beach.

Although the

lake is big and located in south Florida

, a good part is not developed.

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Lake Okeechobee

Connected to the Ocean?” width=”2560″ height=”1709″ />


Is

Lake Okeechobee

Connected to the Ocean?

The towns close to the lake and their population are as follows; Okeechobee population of 5,724; Clewiston, a population of 7,781; and Buckhead Ridge, a population of 1,634.

There is no big shopping mall or acres of subdivisions close to

Lake Okeechobee

.

The lake has two major tributaries, rivers and rainfall.

The Kissimmee River and some other small streams empty in the lake.

Phenomenal Florida Fun Fact:

Its big size notwithstanding, the average depth of Lake Okeechobee is just about nine feet.

The truth is that Lake Okeechobee is linked to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean through rivers.

As you sail to the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico, you will sail across the lake.

A lot of the lake’s water is drainage and runoff from the lands to around the northern side of the lake.

Water from the ocean does not drain directly into the lake.

Palm Beach County was created in 1909 and the whole of Lake Okeechobee was a part of it.

The government of other countries whose land extended to the lake did not like this inclusion.

So, in 1963 the lake was divided among all of them that have their land terminating at the lake.

Presently the water of the lake is divided among Glades, Hendry, Martin, Okeechobee, and Palm Beach counties.

Florida lakes are not very good for beach activities

.

Although some people go there to swim, waterski, and participate in different kinds of other watersports, the geology of

Florida does not support sandy beaches on lakes

.

The presence of

alligators and amoebas in lakes of Florida

, including Lake Okeechobee, discourages people from swimming in them.

The release of water from Lake Okeechobee into St.

Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers downstream was made possible by the Everglades restoration project’s slow pace and the above 11 inches of El Niño rains in recent weeks.

Lake Okeechobee’s freshwater flow into the Atlantic Ocean created a spectacular scene on the state’s coastline.

A lake does not meet the ocean every day so it was a beautiful sight to behold.

Everyone wished the spectacular scene was to be the only impact but the aquatic creatures like oyster beds and sea grasses that depend on the water for survival were adversely affected.

Lake Okeechobee Water Release

The reason is the big volume of freshwater water flowing into the Atlantic Ocean from the lake.

In past years, the volume of water released from Lake Okeechobee into the Atlantic was low.

This made it possible for the salinity of the ocean to kill every bacteria that was transported.

This year’s freshwater volume is high enough to dilute the salt water and make the effect irrelevant.

Furthermore, the water particles prevent sunlight from reaching the coral reefs and the algae living on them, preventing them from having their usual photosynthesis.

What paid off these impacts was the avoidance of the risk of flooding in the area.

The U.

S.

Army Corps of Engineers to 4,000 cubic feet reduced the volume of water released to go to the west a few days ago every second.

This was after the water level in the lake came down to less than 16 feet above sea level.

We hope this release reduction will be sustained.

The Florida members of parliament are calling for more funds to be released to speed up the completion of the ongoing works in the Everglades restoration project, to avert any possible negative impact that may come from future Okeechobee releases.

As soon as this project is completed, It will create more wetland areas which will better cushion the effect of unexpected rains and flooding.

Finally, you should not consume fish caught in the lake.

It might not be healthy for you because of the level of contamination.

FAQs

Can you eat the fish from Lake Okeechobee?

No, You should not eat fish harvested from Lake Okeechobee, so posted the Florida Department of Health on its website.

A test on fish harvested from water with blue-green algae shows it does not have an accumulation of cyan toxins in its muscle or fillet, the edible parts.

Still, in its other organs, so the body said on its website.

To be on the safest side, totally abstain from eating them.

What fish can you not eat in Florida?

There is a high deposit of mercury in Sharks, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish, so avoid eating them.

You can eat 12 ounces of various kinds of fish and shellfish with low mercury deposits in a week.

Is Lake Okeechobee clean?

No, About 99% of the total assessed area of estuaries, representing about 2,500 acres, is polluted.

The pollution comes from

Lake Okeechobee

, which has had about 450,000 square acres of polluted water from agrochemicals and stormwater for decades.

 

ABOUT ME

Born & raised amidst the gators and orange groves of Florida, I’ve waded through the Everglades and braved the dizzying heights of Orlando’s roller coasters.

About Us Jeff from TravelMagma

But FL is just the beginning of my adventures.

I’ve journeyed far and wide. Yet, it was the serene beauty of Japan that truly captured my heart.

I even wrote my own little
Caribbean Guide.

But…

My 2nd book “Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Japan” became a bestseller, a guide filled with wisdom:

TravelMagma is where I tell the tales of the road, capture the essence of each destination, and inspire you to make your own footprints around the globe.

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Jeff