Lake Santa Fe
| Lake Santa Fe | |
|---|---|
| Location | Alachua County, Florida |
| Coordinates | 29°44′22″N 082°04′33″W / 29.73944°N 82.07583°WCoordinates: 29°44′22″N 082°04′33″W / 29.73944°N 82.07583°W |
| Primary inflows | springs |
| Primary outflows | Santa Fe River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 5,850 acres (2,370 ha) |
Lake Santa Fe is a 5,850-acre (2,370 ha) spring-fed lake in northeastern Alachua County, Florida. The lake is located entirely in Alachua County, but is bounded on the east and South side by Bradford County, Clay County, and Putnam County. The Alachua County boundary extends to the ordinary high water line (normally the shoreline), which is 141 feet (43 m) above mean sea level.
It forms the headwaters of the Santa Fe River, exiting from a "little" northern area (Little Lake Santa Fe) emptying into the Suwannee River. Lake Santa Fe offers abundant wildlife, excellent fishing and recreational boating. It is one of the largest and most stable lakes in Florida.
At "the pass" between the "big" southern arm and Little Lake Santa Fe shad school, and fishing is usually good for schooling largemouth bass and stocked sunshine bass. Numerous homes surround the lake, most with docks and ski boats; fishing is always best early and late or at night and on weekdays. In spite of development, the fish habitat is outstanding with many areas of bald cypress and healthy maidencane grass beds. The lake was stocked with 44,500 hybrid-striped bass in April 2005. The previous stocking of the lake occurred in 1997.
Lake Santa Fe is the third most stable of 120 lakes studied in Florida, as well as one of the clearest. It is designated by the State of Florida as an Outstanding Florida Water. It is supported by water flowing in at the southern extremity of the intermediate aquifer that outcrops in the lake bottom. Also it is a rather deep example of a karstic lake, with several spots that are 30-feet (9 m) or more.
...
Wikipedia