SOME FLORIDA LAKES AND LAKE BASINS. 1 45 



with great rapidity. The rapid lowering of the surface is usually 

 due, however, as previously stated, not to greater rapidity in the 

 escape of the water, but to the fact that as the total surface area 

 of the lake became greatly restricted the escape of a given amount of 

 water lowers the surface much more rapidly. 



The following remarks regarding the lake appeared in the 

 Washington Evening Star of September 19, 189 1. This quotation 

 is also from Dr. Ball's report : 



"The Star recently printed an account of the disappearance of Alachua Lake 

 in Florida, a lake that was so well established that a steamboat line was main- 

 tained on it. A U. S. Geological Survey party has been engaged at work in 

 that region, A member of this party, Mr. Hersey Munroe, who is now in the 

 city, gave an interesting' account of the lake, or rather the ex-lake, to .a Star 

 reporter. "Alachua Lake," said Mr. Munroe, "is situated in north latitude 29 

 degrees 35 minutes and west longitude 82 degrees 20 minutes, in Alachua Coun- 

 ty, Fla., and 2 miles south of Gainesville, the county seat. The lake was for- 

 merly a prairie, known as Alachua prairie before the Seminole War during 

 1835-37. It has since been named Payne's Prairie, after King Payne, an old 

 Seminole chief of an early day. The prairie was a great grazing spot for the 

 Indians' cattle and later was used for a like purpose and for tillage by the 

 whites, some fine crops of corn and cotton being grown. The prairie lands are 

 immense meadows, covered by the finest grass, interspersed with clumps of beau- 

 tiful oak trees and palmettoes. These Lands are subject to inundation during the 

 summer season. Hatchet Creek rises 3 miles north of Gainesville and flows in 

 every direction of the compass for a distance of 10 miles, emptying into New- 

 nan's Lake, a beautiful sheet of water covering, 10 square miles. 



"how the lake was formed. 



"The overflow from Newnans Lake forms a large creek named Prairie 

 Creek, which wended its way through Payne's Prairie to Alachua Sink, one of 

 the curiosities of the State. There the waters found their way into a subterra- 

 nean passage. Visitors, to have their curiosity gratified by seeing what the effect 

 would be to have logs thrown into the sink, were the probable cause of the over- 

 flow of Payne's Prairie. The logs would float out to the center of the sink, whirl 

 around in a circle and suddenly disappear. This choking of the outlet to the 

 waters of Prairie Creek caused the overflow and made a sheet of water sufficient 

 to float small steamers and other crafts. 



"One steamer in particular had a splendid freight traffic, during the vegetable 

 season carrying shipments of vegetables from its wharf on Chacala pond across 

 Alachua Lake to the mouth of Sweetwater branch, the nearest point to Gaines- 

 ville, the principal place for shipment north. After the overflow and the forming 

 of a lake it was christened Alachua Lake. This name has been decided upon by 

 the United States Board on Geographic Names. Alachua Lake is 8 miles long, 

 east and west, and in one place 4 miles in width, north and south, covers 16,000 

 acres, and the average depth is from 2 to 14 feet. 



"lowering for several years. 



"For several years the lake has been gradually lowering. The elevation of 

 the water above sea level as given by the Savannah, Florida and Western Rail- 



