Florida Lake now completely empty

[Fisher]

Fair use
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread852818/pg1

Florida Lake now completely empty
Topic started on 19-6-2012 @ 08:34 PM by getreadyalready

We have a lake here in my town, it is normally a pretty large lake.



Wiki says the lake is typically about 6.2 square miles (approx 4000 acres) with a maximum depth of 92 feet. I have friends that put their boats in and fish and duck hunt on the lake.

A few days ago a friend of mine went to put his boat in, and he couldn't find any ramps with water. Today another friend of mine walked out across the barren lake and took this picture of the last bit of water draining out.



Now, this particular lake has a cycle of draining about every 25 years. The Florida Aquifer is limestone, and sinkholes in this lake are fairly common. When the aquifer gets low, the lake will drain, but it rarely goes 100% dry. In fact, I don't know anyone that can remember the last time it went 100% dry. Also, it is known to be on a 25 year cycle, but it drained in 1999 and 2007. Recently it was making a pretty good comeback and boat traffic was becoming a common sight on the lake. Also, just prior to this week's draining, we had a period of 10 straight days of heavy afternoon rains. The lake and the aquifer should have been in recovery mode, not draining mode. We also had a piece of the tropical storm about a month ago. We are technically in a drought, but we appeared to be recovering from that drought.

Another oddity. I have a runoff pond behind my house. Probably about a 3 acre pond, and it was much, much lower back in Dec/Jan, but it is currently pretty full, with a nice contingent of bream, bass, and catfish, 2 river otters, and about a 4 foot gator.

So, my little pond is doing great, but our 4000 acre lake is now dry.

Excerpt - Article continues here: (with photos)
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread852818/pg1

[KenGin31]

After a dry spell heavy rain will open sink holes. More about the weight of the water than the flow.

[VesperSparrow]

Well that just sucks...they should run out there and fill that hole with concrete....

[sssarawolf]

OH my goodness . Yes my first thought was ah o another sink hole must have opened up.

[Satanta]

Well..walk the shores and looks for lures and fish trapped in and mussels and such.

I do feel for you and it must be an interesting sight.

What part of Florida?

[Fisher]

Well..walk the shores and looks for lures and fish trapped in and mussels and such.

I do feel for you and it must be an interesting sight.

What part of Florida?

Hi Sat,

It's not me.

I just spotted the article.

Someone commented that those trees you can see in the second photo would be worth a lot a money.

Guess the water does something to the wood?

Fisher

[Satanta]

Fisher, I followed the link and realized it was likely not near you.

I'm not seeing the 'trees' but I am guessing they are Cypress which is illegal to cut anymore. Back in the day it was harvested and transported by barge tons were lost in storms and such and now days people go out and dredge them up for big $$.

[vessie]

Get out the metal detectors!!! Weeeeeeeee! V

[Satanta]

This is an update/reality check from a local fisherman who posts on a fishing forum I am part of:

I don't know who is the wingnut that posted that article, or what his motive might be, but it is bogus. There are some true facts in there, but a lot of it is just made up BS. Those pics are not of L. Jackson and it is not 92 feet deep...more like 12. The lake does dry up every 20-25 years, but is not dry now. For all of the science we have available these days, they have not determined where the water and fish go, but when the water comes back, the fish come with it. There are several other natural lakes around here that do the same thing. Last time Jackson dried up they went in and scooped out thousands of tons of polluted silt and hauled it away. When the water started coming back, a friend of mine went out there and caught a 12lb bass bef

[BigMikeM16]

This is an update/reality check from a local fisherman who posts on a fishing forum I am part of:

But it has to be true, it was on the Internet.

[ofuzzy1]

A couple rivers in Florida just end and start a few miles away.

It is quite neat to see, I have some photos of one will need to dig them out.

[VesperSparrow]

For all of the science we have available these days, they have not determined where the water and fish go, but when the water comes back, the fish come with it.

OK...that's just weird....

[FarmerJohn]

Is there a surface-recharge or the lake of does the water only come from the aquifer. If there is, I'd put a couple of truckloads of clay in the bottom where it's been draining out. It looks like just one spot.

If the lake is aquifer-fed then unless somebody wants to put a very large check-valve in the hole in the bottom they're going to loose it everytime that aquifer drops.

The lake would then hold water bit it would be getting pretty stagnant in the bottom as it evaporated.

[Flippper]

Bbbbbbut...I thought algore said the oceans were rising?!?! If anything would show that it would be Florida.

Well, it seems to be a hoax, guess someone was bored. Interesting about the short rivers, I lived there for 5 or 6 years and never heard about them. I loved Florida, awesome state, so much to see, so gorgeous. Hated the bugs, everything bites there, and there is an abundance of everything.

[TerryK]

That picture is Lake Jackson in Sebring Florida. Normal maximum depth is something like 20 feet. Most places its 10 or 12 feet.
The pictures below show Lake Jackson pier, popular picnic spot and the one on topt shows the triathalon that was held last Saturday.