Lake Miccosukee

Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee, Florida
Location	Jefferson / Leon counties, Florida, United States
Coordinates	30°34′15″N 83°58′45″W / 30.5707°N 83.9791°W / 30.5707; -83.9791Coordinates: 30°34′15″N 83°58′45″W / 30.5707°N 83.9791°W / 30.5707; -83.9791
Type	prairie lake
Basin countries	United 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.

Lake Miccosukee forms the northern border between Jefferson and Leon Counties. The lake is controlled by an active sink hole located in the northern end and water represents the actual surface of the Floridan Aquifer as the caverns beneath the sink reach into the aquifer.

Lake Miccosukee was a natural prairie lake prior to the settlement by Miccosukee Indians the original indigenous inhabitants of Florida. Thousands of years ago, the lake connected directly with the St. Marks River on the south end. Today, that connection is underground and reappears above ground in Wakulla County. The shores of the lake attracted ancient Paleoindians and the Apalachee later on. From the 1830s to 1860 the land around the lake was home to a few cotton plantations.

Lake Miccosukee's descriptions have changed through time, particularly in regard to coverage of the lake's surface with aquatic plants. Like Lake Lafayette and Lake Iamonia in Leon County, this was a prairie lake. In 1876, a plant-clogged Lake Miccosukee was described as being covered by maidencane, monocotyledonous and white bonnets. In 1914, a large amount of open water was noted, the lake was said to be covered with water to a depth of 2 to 5 feet. The southern end had grass and button bushes 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.