LAKE ANNIE:
Pristine headwaters
Lake Annie is a
pristine, 90-acre sinkhole lake at the northern end of the Archbold main property.
Purchased in 1983 as part of the Frances and Page Hufty Tract, the lake is of exceptional
geological and ecological interest. The lake provides an opportunity to study not just a
pristine lake, but also the uppermost water in a chain of connected lakes and streams.
The lake is closed to fishing and to public access and all
research projects proposed at the lake are subject to prior
review by Archbold's Executive Director.
It lies at 111 feet (33.7 m) above mean sea
level, and is the southernmost of a series of sinkhole lakes extending 200 miles north
along and beyond the Lake Wales Ridge. The lake is 68 feet (20.7 m)
deep and contains at least 36 feet (11 m) of sediment. Pollen analysis and 14C dating of
sediment cores reveal a continuous record of area vegetation for the past 44,000 years.
The lake is fed by rainfall and groundwater and develops a thermocline at about 33 feet
(10 m) during the summer.
The water is exceptionally clear and acidic, and
the lake’s shoreline and submerged aquatic communities are completely intact.
Limnological studies include monthly analyses of various water quality parameters since
1983. Twenty-four species of native fishes live
in Lake Annie, and two species of Cladocera are endemic to it.
[Aerial photo, 29 May
1997, view to
the NW]
see also: Layne, J.N.
1979. Natural features of the Lake Annie tract, Highlands County,
Florida. Archbold Biol. Sta., 64 pp. PDF
file
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Placid, Florida 33862 USA 