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Lakes

Suniland Magazine

1925

Among Florida's greatest charms are her myriad lakes. There are literally thousands of them dotting every part of the state, and they vary in size from the largest, Lake Okeechobee, many miles in extent, to miniature lakes that cover very little of the earth's surface. There are no ponds in Florida. Every body of water entirely surrounded by land is dignified by the name lake. They have considerable economic value; they affect the climate, provide water supply for various purposes, and, in some places, inland waterway transportation. The principal value of Florida lakes, however, lies in their scenic beauty and the pleasure to be derived from boating, bathing and fishing in inland Florida.

Henry David Thoreau must have had Florida in mind when he wrote the eloquent passage from which the following is an extract:

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is the earth's eye, looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. . . . It is the mirror which no stone can crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs; no storms, no dust, can dim its surface ever fresh. . . swept by the sun's hazy rush."

Source:
Excerpt from: Hewlett, T.W. & Hansford, R.S., eds. "The Lakes of Florida."
Suniland, Nov. 1925, Vol. 3, No. 2. Pg. 33