OF THE UNITED STATES 
383 
along the west coast of the iDeninsula. East of the ridge, and 
more especially where it approaches the Atlantic, we find the 
coquina beds of sand and shells, which, with varying structure, 
form the barrier between the sea and the great coastal lagoon. 
The peninsula naturally separates into three divisions ; the 
middle portion, which comprises the beautiful lake region ; the 
west coast, which slopes away from the high ridge to the gulf of 
INIexico, and the east coast, whose sand}^ levels are protected 
from the Atlantic by the great coquina atoll, extending from the 
mouth of the St. Johns river to the shores of lake Worth. Each 
of these divisions differs wholly from the others, presenting con- 
ditions and characteristics peculiar to itself. 
Middle Florida is a broad ridge which reaches at places an 
elevation of nearly 250 feet. The soil is for the most part sandy, 
but like that of the state in general, it contains a sufficient quan- 
tity of phosphate to render it fertile. Forests of pine are every- 
where. Here and there a cypress swamp varies the scene, and 
now and then a palmetto liammock suggests the approach of the 
tropics. It is in this division the lake region is found. Dotting 
the landscape like jewels of crystal in a field of green are num- 
berless lakes, varying in size from a gem-like lakelet to the broad 
expanse of Okeechobee. Within a radius of 5 miles from Winter 
Haven 100 have been counted, and within 7 miles of Orlando 
there are known to be 150. Mhth Gainesville as its northern 
limit and including lake Okeechobee on the south, this region 
contains at a conservative estimate at least 30,000 of these lakes 
and lakelets. They are not, as many imagine, the result of sur- 
face drainage or the reservoirs of sluggish streams. INlany of 
them find their chief su})ply in the hidden sources of the great 
limestone which forms their beds, and some of them are con- 
nected by subterranean channels. It has frequently been ob- 
served that the fall of one means the rise of another. In some 
cases the water has disappeared entirely for a long i)eriod, only 
to return again, sometimes (piite unexpectedly. 'I'heir waters 
are pure and they abound in fish. Clustered around them are 
the homes of thousands of people who have I)een driven south 
by diseases of the throat and lungs, d’he pine forests, the dry 
soil, the elevation alx^ve the not distant coast, the soft air and 
the healing sunshine insure almost entire immunity from pul- 
monary affections. 
It is in this region that many of the great si)rings of Florida 
are found. The famous Silver si)ring lies just on the edge of 
