New sinkhole lowers North Florida's Lake Miccosukee

[csziggy]

At the end of October a new and significant sinkhole opened up at the
south end of Lake Miccosukee, about 270 yards north of Hwy 90. This
is now one of the few waterfalls in Leon county.

http://www.curg.org/news/MiccSinkHole.html

As sinkholes go, this one is small and not very impressive, but it will drop the level of this lake significantly. Lake Miccosukee is a major recreation lake for this part of the county. At the north end, a much larger sinkhole used to drain the lake completely every decade or two, but some time in the past, that sinkhole was dammed off from the rest of the lake to prevent the drainage.

This new sinkhole is small and with the woods around it, will easily clog up and likely not stay as a long term feature. It is possible, if it does not clog up, that erosion from the water flowing through it could open up the sink even more and become a larger factor in the health of the lake. Unlike years ago when draining the lakes was considered a bad thing, now it is thought that the periodic draining and drying of the lake bottoms allows reduction of built up nutrients and improves the quality of the water for fish and wildlife.

[Lochloosa]

1. I grew up fishing on this lake. It needs to drain every now and then.

It's chocked with weeds

[csziggy]

2. Yes, it has not been healthy for years

Damming the original sinkhole was a mistake, though it did allow for archeological investigation, those could have been done in dry periods once the lake drained.

Do you still live in the area? I've lived off Centerville Road for thirty years, about halfway between Miccosukee and Tallahassee.