136 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



Variation in this lake has been more or less perfectly recorded 

 since the time of the earliest settlements in this section. When 

 visited by Bartram in 1776 this basin was known as "Alachua 

 s£ivannah" and served as grazing ground for stock belonging to the 

 Indians.* The basin was visited by James Pierce in 1824 and was 

 dry at that time. The water in the basin is said by W. W. Cameron 

 who lives near its margin, to have been very low in 1861. When 

 visited by Dr. E. A. Smith in 1880, the basin was comparatively full, 

 forming a lake. The basin in fact is reported to have continued 

 as a lake from 1S71 or 1873 to 189 1. In the fall of 1891 the basin 

 became dry, and, with the exception of temporary overflows, has 

 been dry much of time since that date. It is possible that the higher 

 water stage in the basin during the years from 1871 to 1891 was 

 due to partial clogging of the sink. The records of rainfall during 

 these years for this section is unfortunately lacking. 



The following account of the disappearance of Alachua Lake 

 appeared in the Providence Journal for September 14, 1891. The 

 account is given with some omissions as quoted by Dr. W. H. Dall 

 in Bui. 84, U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 94, 1892. 



"A curious spectacle was to be seen on the outskirts of Gainesville, Florida, 

 recently. Alachua Lake * * * jg no more. On its banks were lying thou- 

 sands of dead tish * * * and the atmosphere was heavy with noxious 

 gases. Men and boys were there in throngs with hoes and rakes, dragging to 

 shore hundreds of fish which had sought the pools for refuge. The waters 

 were fairly alive with their struggles for existence. Except for a small stream 

 known as Payne's Creek flowing from Newnan's Lake into the Sink, the two 

 main basins of the Sink, and a few stagnant pools, no water is now to be 

 seen where a few years ago steamers were ploughing their way. This is the 

 second time since 1823, that a similar occurrence has taken place. At that 

 time the bed of the lake was a large prairie — Payne's Prairie — having in it a 

 body of water called the Sink and a sinall creek. In 1868 heavy rains filled up 

 the prairie, but the water disappeared after a short time and the prairie was 

 again dry land. In 1873, after a series of heavy rains, the Sink overflowed 

 .and the creek swelled to the dimensions of a lake. During several years the 

 waters increased till a larger lake was formed, and for fully fifteen years 

 sufficient depth of water stood over the prairie to allow of small steamers. 

 During the last two years, however, the waters have been gradually low- 

 ering, and .about four weeks ago they commenced going down with surprising 

 rapidit3% the lake falling about eight feet in ten days, until now nothing is left 

 of Alachua Lake but the memory of it. The Sink is considered the cause of 

 this change. There is evidently an underground passage connected, and for 

 some reason not understood, this underground passage has been acting as a 

 drain until all the water in the lake has been drawn off." 



In this account the fact is noted as is usually the case that after 

 the lake becomes somewhat restricted the water seemed to escape 



*Bartram's Travels, First Edition, page 203, 1791. Philadelphia. 



