Lake Lafayette, Florida
Encyclopedia
Lake Lafayette is a prairie lake
located in the coastal lowland
in eastern Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida
with US 27 / State Road 20
running close on its south side.
river delta
. Water levels receded in the last Ice Age
and the coast moved farther south of the site which became a river valley and eventual a tributary of the St. Marks River
. Dissolution processes culminated in the formation of a large basin, 8925 acres (36.1 km²), a major sinkhole is located in Upper Lake Lafayette just South of the Cody Scarp
.
Lake Lafayette Basin is one of the premier paleo sites in Florida. The lake area is surrounded by archaeological sites. Almost 40 Native American Mounds surround the lake. One of these mounds is displayed at the Florida Museum of Natural History
. The large Midden Mounds on Lake Piney Z and the Temple Mounds at Fallschase are of special interest. Native American settlements are common in the Lafayette Basin and Hernando de Soto
spent the first Christmas in the New World at one of these sites.
in gratitude for his military services in the American Revolutionary War.
In the late 1820s, portions of the Lafayette grant around the lake were sold and became plantation
s, each a few thousand acres in size. The Francis Eppes Plantation
, Evergreen Hills Plantation
and the Joseph Chaires Plantation
grew cotton until the 1860s.
The Lake Lafayette basin is the most intensively developed of the larger Lake basins in Leon County. This basin contains most of central and northern Tallahassee. It is the most modified major lake basin in North Florida and no longer functions naturally due to human occupation and altering of the lakes. Lafayette Basin once functioned as a temporary lake, much like Lake Miccosukee
and Lake Iamonia
where water was frequently exchanged between the Lake Basin, the Floridan Aquifer (sink holes) and the St. Marks River through a series of connecting sloughs.
Lower lake Lafayette is covered with floating islands of aquatic vegetation, called Tussock
s, usually the root systems of decaying Fragrant Water Lily
, an invasive species. These are colonized by aquatic grasses, sedges and even small trees which float around the lake driven by the winds. They can trap or crush boats, docks and piers.
Prairie lake
A prairie lake is a somewhat shallow lake that will empty naturally during dry periods allowing a variety of land plants to flourish in the rich nutrients on the lake bottom. The lakes eventually fill up with water returning to their previous state. In northern Florida, a Flatwoods/Prairie Lake is...
located in the coastal lowland
Lowland
In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...
in eastern Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida
Leon County, Florida
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487. The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major...
with US 27 / State Road 20
State Road 20 (Florida)
State Road 20 is an east–west route across northern Florida and the Florida Panhandle.-Route description:The western terminus of State Road 20 is at State Road 85 in Niceville. The route proceeds east through Blountstown, crossing the Apalachicola River on the Trammell Bridge, then proceeding...
running close on its south side.
Prehistoric
Lake Lafayette is the remnant of a PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
river delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
. Water levels receded in the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
and the coast moved farther south of the site which became a river valley and eventual a tributary of the St. Marks River
St. Marks River
The St. Marks River is a river in the Big Bend region of Florida. It has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as an Outstanding Florida Water, and is the easternmost river within the Northwest Florida Water Management District....
. Dissolution processes culminated in the formation of a large basin, 8925 acres (36.1 km²), a major sinkhole is located in Upper Lake Lafayette just South of the Cody Scarp
Cody Scarp
The Cody Scarp or escarpment is located in north and north central Florida USA. It is a relict scarp and ancient persistent topographical feature formed from an ancient early Pleistocene shorelines of ~1.8 million to 10,000 years BP during interglacial periods...
.
Lake Lafayette Basin is one of the premier paleo sites in Florida. The lake area is surrounded by archaeological sites. Almost 40 Native American Mounds surround the lake. One of these mounds is displayed at the Florida Museum of Natural History
Florida Museum of Natural History
The Florida Museum of Natural History is the State of Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural history museum. Its main facilities are located on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida....
. The large Midden Mounds on Lake Piney Z and the Temple Mounds at Fallschase are of special interest. Native American settlements are common in the Lafayette Basin and Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
spent the first Christmas in the New World at one of these sites.
Early 1800s
The early settlers of Leon County called Lake Lafayette 'Prairie Lake' as it looked much like a prairie during droughts. The lake took its name from the Lafayette land grant, the township (36-square-mile tract) on the north and east side of Tallahassee that was granted by the US Congress in 1824 to General LafayetteGilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
in gratitude for his military services in the American Revolutionary War.
In the late 1820s, portions of the Lafayette grant around the lake were sold and became plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s, each a few thousand acres in size. The Francis Eppes Plantation
Francis Eppes Plantation
The Francis Eppes Plantation was a small cotton plantation of 1920 acres situated in east-central Leon County, Florida, United States and established by Francis W. Eppes in 1829.-Location:...
, Evergreen Hills Plantation
Evergreen Hills Plantation
Evergreen Hills Plantation was a large cotton plantation of 6700 acres located in eastern Leon County, Florida, United States established by Green A. Chaires.-Location:Evergreen Hills was located in 2 tracts...
and the Joseph Chaires Plantation
Joseph Chaires Plantation
Joseph Chaires Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in southern Leon County, Florida, USA owned by Joseph Chaires.-Location:The Joseph Chaires Plantation's northern border was located at the southeast tip of Lake Lafayette. The property extended southward across Old St. Augustine...
grew cotton until the 1860s.
20th Century
Lake Lafayette functioned as one hydrological unit until 1948 when the owners of Piney Z Plantation constructed two earthen dikes in the middle of the lake and turned the central part of Lake Lafayette into a farm pond. More dikes were constructed and the lake was further broken up creating Upper Lake Lafayette, Lake Lafayette, Piney Z Lake, and Lower Lake Lafayette which includes Alford Arm. This began the process which started the lake(s) to transform into a vegetated marsh.The Lake Lafayette basin is the most intensively developed of the larger Lake basins in Leon County. This basin contains most of central and northern Tallahassee. It is the most modified major lake basin in North Florida and no longer functions naturally due to human occupation and altering of the lakes. Lafayette Basin once functioned as a temporary lake, much like Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee
Lake Miccosukee is a large swampy prairie lake in northern Jefferson County, Florida, USA, located east of the settlement of Miccosukee. A small portion of the lake, its northwest corner, is located in Leon County.-Characteristics:...
and Lake Iamonia
Lake Iamonia, Florida
Lake Iamonia is a large, subtropical prairie lake in northern Leon County, Florida, United States created during the Pleistocene epoch.-Forming Iamonia:...
where water was frequently exchanged between the Lake Basin, the Floridan Aquifer (sink holes) and the St. Marks River through a series of connecting sloughs.
Lower lake Lafayette is covered with floating islands of aquatic vegetation, called Tussock
Tussock
Tussock most often refers to a small hillock of grassy, or grass-like plant growth, but may also refer to Plants and ecology, Insects.- Plants and ecology :*Tussock *New Zealand tussock grasslands*Serrated Tussock...
s, usually the root systems of decaying Fragrant Water Lily
Nymphaea odorata
Nymphaea odorata, also known as the Fragrant Water Lily and Beaver Root, is a flower belonging to the genus Nymphaea. It can commonly be found in lake shallows, ponds, and permanent slow moving waters throughout North America where it ranges from Central America to northern Canada...
, an invasive species. These are colonized by aquatic grasses, sedges and even small trees which float around the lake driven by the winds. They can trap or crush boats, docks and piers.
Scientific
- Lake Lafayette has a surface area of 2.85 square miles (7.4 km²) and a drainage basin of 79.6 square miles (206.2 km²) and is classified as Hypereutrophic.
- Upper Lake Lafayette has a surface area of 0.46 square miles (1.2 km²) and a drainage basin of 23.4 square miles (60.6 km²). It's classified as hypereutrophic.
- Lake Piney Z has a surface area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) and a drainage basin of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) It's classified as hypereutrophic.
- Lower Lake Lafayette (including Alford Arm) has a surface area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²) and a drainage basin of 54.6 square miles (141.4 km²) and classified as hypereutrophic.