62 
FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY—THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. 
rounding country is in general level or rolling and lies at an eleva¬ 
tion approximating 200 feet above, sea. The basin along its 
western side is bordered by a bluff which rises 'to an elevation of 
from 50 to 75 feet above the level of the lake. Along the eastern 
and southeastern side the basin passes gradually into low lying- 
swampy hammock land, or cypress swamp. The sink of Alligator 
Lake occurs along the southwestern border. The escape of water 
at the present time is through this sink. In the country bor¬ 
dering the lake around this sink numerous other sinks occur. The 
lake is said to overflow at high water stage to the south through a 
small stream known as Clay Hole Branch. 
A soil boring put down fifty yards from the edge of the basin 
along its southwest border gave the following section: 
Black muck with admixture of clay...1 ft. 
Yellow sand loam ..... ^ ft. - 
Fine light gray sand........... 154 ft. 
A pit made by Mr. Greer in his garden near the border of the 
lake gave the following section: 
Brownish colored imperfectly decayed vegetable matter (peat)....i ft. 
Black muck with admixture of sand and clay.....2 ft. 
Red very sandy clay...1 ft. 
It is reported that at the time of the early settlements in Co¬ 
lumbia County, 1835 or thereabouts, Alligator Basin was a prairie 
or savanna and was used at that time by the Indians as pasture 
land. The lake was dry in the fall of 1891, and again in the fall 
of 1899 or 1900. It was dry .again during the winter and 
spring of 1909, but was partly filled by rains during the following 
summer. 
Approximately complete records of rainfall are available at 
the Lake City station for the year 1897 ar, d succeeding years. 
The rainfall for the year 1899, at which time the lake became dry, 
was much below normal, amounting for the year to only 30.49 
inches. The next period of unusually low rainfall was the year 
1908. During this year the rainfall amounted to only 29.83. The 
rainfall during the year 1909 was likewise slightly below normal, 
amounting at Lake City to 49.68 inches. 
ALACHUA LAKE. 
Alachua Lake or Paynes Prairie is the central and largest of the 
several lake basins of southeastern Alachua County. Tfiis basin 
is about eight miles long and varies in width from one and a half 
