SOIL SURVEY OF THE OCALA AREA, FLORIDA. IQI 
Cutting through this rolling country is a broad belt of low, flat 
country extending from a few miles east of Dunnellon southeast out 
of the area. The Withlacoochee River flows through it and it may 
be termed the valley of this river. Associated with it is Lake Pana- 
soffkee on the east and Lake Tsala Apopka on the west. This is a 
section of low-lying flat woods, interspersed with prairie ponds, low 
hammocks of semiswampy character, and cypress swamps. The 
averag'e elevation of this section is between 40 and 50 feet above 
sea level, with a few higher elevations. In appearance and condition 
Lake Tsala Apopka resembles the Everglades. It consists mostly of 
shallow water, with a thick growth of saw grass, interspersed with 
open, deeper bodies of water and with areas of land having a char¬ 
acteristic growth of scrub saw palmetto and stunted pines and lying 
but slightly above the elevation of the lake. There are some land 
areas supporting a “hammock” growth, and also cypress “bays” 
here and there. In the latter the tallest cypress trees are in the cen¬ 
ter, the trees gradually decreasing in size toward the edge in such a 
way that they stand out on the sky line in triangular or pyramidal 
form with the apex near the center. There are also some sandy 
islands that rise as high as 20 feet above the water. The descent 
into all this low-lying region from the adjacent rolling lands is 
rather abrupt. 
In the northeast section of the area there is another low-lying 
strip of hammock flatwoods and swamp following Silver Springs 
Run, which is a part of the Ocklawaha River Valley, lying just 
outside of the area. Again, just west of Dunnellon a flatwoods area 
begins and extends west out of the area. This is evidently a part of 
the low coastal country reaching to the Gulf. 
Aside from the large streams there are strikingly few streams in 
the area. The exceptions are the small branches following down the 
draws on the slopes of the high “clay hammocks.” These flow inter¬ 
mittently as a rule and soon disappear into sinkhole ponds. The 
water falling upon the surface either seeps into the sinks and swamps 
or percolates downward through the porous sand into the underlying 
porous limestone, finally reaching subterranean channels. Some of 
these subterranean streams come to. the surface, as strikingly illus¬ 
trated by Silver Springs in the eastern part of the area and Blue 
Spring in the western part. These “springs” discharge a large 
quantity of water, the seasonal variations of the volume being very 
little. There are also a number of smaller springs in the low ham¬ 
mocks and swamps. 
