The name Okeechobee comes from the Hitchiti words "oki" (water) and "chubi" (big), and literally means "big water". Also previously called Macaco and Mayaimi, the latter being the origin of the name of the city Miami. Even more associations!
The Lake is enclosed by a 20-foot high dike built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after a hurricane in 1928 caused a breach of the old dike, allowing water to flood surrounding communities and claim thousands of lives.
Okeechobee covers 730mi2 and is relatively shallow, with an average depth of only 9 ft. The Lake covers land in five counties, where they all meet near the center.
Sound like a pretty cool place, eh? I've never been there, and I have lived in South Florida since 1990. Feeling absolutely pathetic that I have never seen this marvel of Florida, I took a little detour on the way up to Orange City from the Keys.
I'll tell you something, I wouldn't want to be driving thu Pahokee at night, there was some excellent examples of urban blight (my newest oxymoron) and plenty of suspicious looking individuals. I was driving by the dike for a little while, and then I turned at a small recreational area.
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