Florida’s plethora of freshwater ecosystems includes much more than the endangered Everglades National Park and Lake City, also known as “Florida’s Springlands.” Few bodies of freshwater in the United States other than the Great Lakes are visible from space, and Florida is home to one of them. Measuring 734 square miles, Lake Okeechobee is the Sunshine State’s largest body of freshwater. But another thing visible from space sets off warning signs for potential lake visitors.
Lake Okeechobee suffers from toxic blue-green algae. The algae can sometimes spread enough to cover around half of the lake’s surface. Blue-green algae is a type of bacteria that thrives in sunny conditions and calm water, which definitely sums up Florida’s climate and freshwater ecosystems to a tee. You can recognize it not just by its color, but also by its unpleasant smell. Researchers diligently monitor the area and warn that blue-green algae harbors toxins that are harmful to the liver and the neurological system. Contact with the algae can cause eye and throat irritation as well as flu-like symptoms. They can also be downright poisonous to smaller animals, including pets.
There are still safe things to do at Lake Okeechobee
The algae does not cover the entire lake. While lakegoers can sometimes find space away from the big patches of blue-green algae, pollution is another issue for Lake Okeechobee. Chemicals from nearby farms and other chemically treated lands often end up in the water around this part of Florida. As if that wasn’t enough, alligators are another reason why Lake Okeechobee finds itself among the most dangerous lakes in the United States…