The St. Johns River flows out of the lake at the north end at Rocky Point. To the west of this is Salt Cove, taking the flow from Salt Creek. Just south of Salt Cove is Lisk Point, named for a Dr. Lisk who built a house near the point. Steamboats coming down from Jacksonville made a counter clockwise loop around the lake with their first stop at Lisk Point.
Lake George is the second largest lake in Florida, after Lake Okeechobee. Lake George was the third largest lake behind Lake Apopka, but conversion of the littoral zone on the northern side of Lake Apopka to farm fields in the previous century reduced its surface area.
Historyedit
The name of Lake Welaka is taken from "Welaka" (meaning "chain of lakes"), the name for the St. Johns River in Muskogee language of the Seminole.[2]The first European to visit the lake was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who as the Spanishgovernor of Florida, explored the St. Johns River in the spring of 1596.[3]
Later, the Florida territory was sold to Britain. The royal botanist in America to King George III, John Bartram, explored the St. Johns River in 1765. It was John Bartram who gave the lake the name Lake George, in honor of his king.[3]
Panoramic of Lake George taken near the mouth of Silver Glen Springs
In more recent years, Lake George has been home to an operational U.S. military bombing and aerial mining range. The range is affiliated with the U.S. Navy's Pinecastle Bombing Range located in the Ocala National Forest just west of Lake George. The bombing ranges date back to World War II, when the Navy built bomb targets in Lake George and nearby Crescent Lake, and stationed personnel in the area to maintain the targets and perform search and rescue operations for downed pilots. Today, the range is under the operational control of nearby Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
The lake also hosts a wide variety of wildlife ranging from migratory water birds and alligators to a number of normally marine animals. Local springs in Lake George (and throughout the St Johns River) impart enough salt to the system to make the habitat suitable to resident and migratory marine species like Atlantic stingray, various species of mullet, striped bass and blue crabs. There is a large enough blue crab population to support a local fishery, making it one of the only fresh water blue crab fisheries in the world.
Dreggors, W. and J. Hess. A Century of West Volusia County: 1860–1960, published by the West Volusia Historical Society, Volusia Co. Fl.
Ferguson, G.E., et al. (1947). Springs of Florida. Geological Bulletin No. 31. Florida Geological Survey.
Johnson, M.R. and Snelson, F.F. Jr. (1996) Reproductive Life History of the Atlantic Stingray, Dasyatis Sabina (Pisces, Dasyatidae) in the Freshwater of Conservation Marine Laboratory, St. Petersburg Fl.
LaRocque, Kaylee (2006). Florida bombing Range helps pilots hone skills. JaxAirNews.com. accessed 19-Feb-07.
McLane. W.M. (1955). The Fishes of the St Johns River System. PhD. Dissertation. University of Florida, August, 1955.
Tagatz, M.E. (1965). The Fishery for Blue Crabs in the St. Johns River, Florida, with Special Reference to Fluctuation in Yield Between 1961 and 1962. Special Scientific Report No. 501. US Dept of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
^Read, William A. Florida Place-Names of Indian Origin and Seminole Personal Names, p. 39. Fire Ant Books, 2003.
^ abWass de Czege, Albert. The History of Astor on the St. Johns, Astor Park, and the Surrounding Area, Third extended edition, pg. 9-11. Danubian Press, Astor, Florida, 1996. ISBN0-87934-026-6.
lake, george, florida, other, bodies, water, same, name, lake, george, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, remov. For other bodies of water of the same name see Lake George disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lake George Florida news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2007 Learn how and when to remove this message Lake George or Lake Welaka is a broad and shallow brackish lake on the St Johns River in the U S state of Florida Lake GeorgeSt Johns River channel entering Lake George from the south Lake GeorgeShow map of FloridaLake GeorgeShow map of the United StatesLocationVolusia Putnam counties Florida United StatesCoordinates29 17 12 N 81 35 53 W 29 28667 N 81 59806 W 29 28667 81 59806Primary inflowsSt Johns RiverJuniper CreekSalt CreekSilver Glen SpringsPrimary outflowsSt Johns RiverBasin countriesUnited StatesMax length11 mi 18 km Max width6 mi 9 7 km Surface area46 000 acres 19 000 ha 1 Average depth8 ft 2 4 m IslandsDrayton IslandHog IslandSettlementsAstor FloridaGeorgetown FloridaSalt Springs FloridaPierson FloridaVolusia Florida Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksGeography editThe St Johns River flows out of the lake at the north end at Rocky Point To the west of this is Salt Cove taking the flow from Salt Creek Just south of Salt Cove is Lisk Point named for a Dr Lisk who built a house near the point Steamboats coming down from Jacksonville made a counter clockwise loop around the lake with their first stop at Lisk Point Lake George is the second largest lake in Florida after Lake Okeechobee Lake George was the third largest lake behind Lake Apopka but conversion of the littoral zone on the northern side of Lake Apopka to farm fields in the previous century reduced its surface area History editThe name of Lake Welaka is taken from Welaka meaning chain of lakes the name for the St Johns River in Muskogee language of the Seminole 2 The first European to visit the lake was Pedro Menendez de Aviles who as the Spanish governor of Florida explored the St Johns River in the spring of 1596 3 Later the Florida territory was sold to Britain The royal botanist in America to King George III John Bartram explored the St Johns River in 1765 It was John Bartram who gave the lake the name Lake George in honor of his king 3 nbsp Panoramic of Lake George taken near the mouth of Silver Glen Springs In more recent years Lake George has been home to an operational U S military bombing and aerial mining range The range is affiliated with the U S Navy s Pinecastle Bombing Range located in the Ocala National Forest just west of Lake George The bombing ranges date back to World War II when the Navy built bomb targets in Lake George and nearby Crescent Lake and stationed personnel in the area to maintain the targets and perform search and rescue operations for downed pilots Today the range is under the operational control of nearby Naval Air Station Jacksonville The lake also hosts a wide variety of wildlife ranging from migratory water birds and alligators to a number of normally marine animals Local springs in Lake George and throughout the St Johns River impart enough salt to the system to make the habitat suitable to resident and migratory marine species like Atlantic stingray various species of mullet striped bass and blue crabs There is a large enough blue crab population to support a local fishery making it one of the only fresh water blue crab fisheries in the world See also editSt Johns River Drayton IslandReferences editDreggors W and J Hess A Century of West Volusia County 1860 1960 published by the West Volusia Historical Society Volusia Co Fl Ferguson G E et al 1947 Springs of Florida Geological Bulletin No 31 Florida Geological Survey Johnson M R and Snelson F F Jr 1996 Reproductive Life History of the Atlantic Stingray Dasyatis Sabina Pisces Dasyatidae in the Freshwater of Conservation Marine Laboratory St Petersburg Fl LaRocque Kaylee 2006 Florida bombing Range helps pilots hone skills JaxAirNews com accessed 19 Feb 07 McLane W M 1955 The Fishes of the St Johns River System PhD Dissertation University of Florida August 1955 Tagatz M E 1965 The Fishery for Blue Crabs in the St Johns River Florida with Special Reference to Fluctuation in Yield Between 1961 and 1962 Special Scientific Report No 501 US Dept of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service About Lake George Florida Land for Sale Lake George in Putnam County FL Archived from the original on 2017 08 26 Read William A Florida Place Names of Indian Origin and Seminole Personal Names p 39 Fire Ant Books 2003 a b Wass de Czege Albert The History of Astor on the St Johns Astor Park and the Surrounding Area Third extended edition pg 9 11 Danubian Press Astor Florida 1996 ISBN 0 87934 026 6 External links editSt Johns River Water Management District St Johns River Watershed Site Florida DEP http www jimporter org lakes george Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lake George Florida amp oldid 1184405833, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
