Lake Apopka
USA /
Florida /
Montverde /
World
/ USA
/ Florida
/ Montverde
World / United States / Florida
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The third largest lake in Florida, it was once the second largest.
Lake Apopka suffered a century of abuse beginning in the 1890s when construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal lowered lake levels by a third.
The decline of Lake Apopka can be traced to:
* The loss of 20,000 acres of wetlands along the lake’s north shore to farming operations beginning in the 1940s
* Agricultural discharges laden with phosphorus until the late 1990s
* Treated wastewater discharges from shoreline communities prior to the 1980s
* Discharges from citrus processing plants prior to the 1980s
The increase in nutrients discharged into the lake led to a chronic algal bloom, and Lake Apopka’s waters turned pea green. The cloudy water prevented sunlight from reaching underwater vegetation critical to fish and wildlife habitat.
The continual settling of dead algae created a thick layer of soupy muck, which also destroyed the habitat necessary for fish and wildlife to thrive. The bass population significantly declined as gizzard shad became the predominant fish species in the lake. Once the bass disappeared, all the fish camps closed.
www.sjrwmd.com/lakeapopka/
Lake Apopka suffered a century of abuse beginning in the 1890s when construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal lowered lake levels by a third.
The decline of Lake Apopka can be traced to:
* The loss of 20,000 acres of wetlands along the lake’s north shore to farming operations beginning in the 1940s
* Agricultural discharges laden with phosphorus until the late 1990s
* Treated wastewater discharges from shoreline communities prior to the 1980s
* Discharges from citrus processing plants prior to the 1980s
The increase in nutrients discharged into the lake led to a chronic algal bloom, and Lake Apopka’s waters turned pea green. The cloudy water prevented sunlight from reaching underwater vegetation critical to fish and wildlife habitat.
The continual settling of dead algae created a thick layer of soupy muck, which also destroyed the habitat necessary for fish and wildlife to thrive. The bass population significantly declined as gizzard shad became the predominant fish species in the lake. Once the bass disappeared, all the fish camps closed.
www.sjrwmd.com/lakeapopka/
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Apopka
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 28°37'10"N 81°37'23"W
- Apopka Marshes East Section 8.8 km
- Duda Farms 11 km
- Apopka Marshes Northeast Section 12 km
- Sand Farm 14 km
- Apopka Marsh Flow-way 15 km
- Lake Ola 16 km
- Lake Carlton 17 km
- Lake Melton 18 km
- Quarry Pond 19 km
- Astatula Sand Mine 19 km
- Clermont Uplands 10 km
- Orange County, Florida 36 km
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