A Historical Geography of Southwest Florida Waterways Vol. 2
ative 132 er course Today, the Today, ease and im- way construc- er between Lake er between ed, dredged chan- ed, dredged ope-bending, snag- t. Lucie River and River t. Lucie ests — striving to de- tuart, on the Atlantic eautiful Island (on the eautiful Island outhwest Florida, Hatchee = Hatchee Florida, outhwest ways — have propelled devel- propelled ways — have esent waterway. estern portion of the Okeechobee front and waterwayfront uses. ofound ways.The riv its abruptly cut banks and straight-lined, ed, navigation-optimiz The Caloosahatchee [Caloosa = indigenous N It is hard to recognize from today’s Okeechobee Wa- Okeechobee from today’s to recognize is hard It ALTERING THE ALTERING CALOOSAHATCHEE FOR LAND AND WATER DEVELOPMENT Americans who inhabited S Seminole for ‘river’] is a microcosm of Southwest Florida’s of Southwest is a microcosm for ‘river’] Seminole waterways, in which multiple inter velop waterfront real estate, to create new for- land from estate, to create waterfront real velop merly overflowed swamplands, and to incr merly overflowed prove the navigable water prove opment in many pr Okeechobee (on the east) and B Okeechobee west) has been selected to illustrate the effects, both la- west) tent and direct, of land drainage and water tent and direct, tion policies on water Pre–development Geography terway — with flood-controll nel — the once meandering, shifting, r laden course of the Caloosahatchee. Caloosahatchee is the w Waterway, which stretches from which stretches S Waterway, Ocean, to San Carlos Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. and the Gulf Carlos Bay to San Ocean, The route crosses the state via the S crosses The route Canal, Lake Okeechobee, and the Caloosahatchee (see Canal, Lake Okeechobee, Map 1 in the Dredging History chapter).
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