The Okeechobee Plain is a major geologic feature of Florida formed during the Pliocene

Pliocene

The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...

 and Pleistocene

Pleistocene

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 ....

 epochs and named for Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee County, Florida

Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 35,910. According to 2005 U.S. Census estimates, its population had grown to 39,836. The county seat is Okeechobee, Florida. The county comprises the Okeechobee, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area.-...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Description

The Okeechobee Plain is a dry prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

 or grassland
located directly north of Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee

Lake Okeechobee , locally referred to as The Lake or The Big O, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake contained entirely within the lower 48 states...

 and is present in the counties of Highlands

Highlands County, Florida

Highlands County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the population was 97,346. Its county seat is Sebring, Florida. The county comprises the Sebring, Florida, Micropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

 (eastern), Glades

Glades County, Florida

Glades County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 10,576. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 11,252 . Its county seat is Moore Haven, Florida.- History :...

 (northeastern), Indian River

Indian River County, Florida

Indian River County is a county located in the Treasure Coast region in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 112,947. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 128,594...

 (western) and Okeechobee where it is present along the western bank of the Kissimmee River

Kissimmee River

The Kissimmee River is a river in south-central Florida, United States.-Course:The Kissimmee River arises in Osceola County as the outflow from East Lake Tohopekaliga, passing through Lake Tohopekaliga, Lake Cypress, Lake Hatchineha and Lake Kissimmee...

.

The Okeechobee Plain is within the Kissimmee/Okeechobee Lowland

Kissimmee/Okeechobee Lowland

The Kissimmee/Okeechobee Lowland is one of 47 distinct lake regions within the state of Florida, United States.-Location:The Kissimmee/Okeechobee is located in the central part of the state bounding Lake Okeechobee to the south and extending north to the Osceola Slope in Osceola County...

 established by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Lake Bioassessment/Regionalization Initiative.

Origin

The Okeechobee Plain was created during the Pliocene and Pleistocene's wild climatic times through continuous depositing of sediment

Sediment

Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....

s from rivers as the peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 grew southward. During the Piacenzian

Piacenzian

The Piacenzian is in the international geologic timescale the upper stage or latest age of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma and 2.588 ± 0.005 Ma...

 (3.6—2.5 Ma) stage of the Pliocene the plain, was for the most part, submerged and is referred to as part of the Kissimmee Embayment.

Bounding geographic features

The two major geographic features bounding the Okeechobee Plain are the Osceola Plain to the north and Caloosahatchee Incline to the southwest.(Florida EPA Basin Status)