Swamp’s subterranean source?
How the history books got it wrong

The Immokalee Rise is often viewed …

As the northern “terrestrial” bounds of the swamp.

The myth of a rain-driven swamp falls apart when you consider its connection to a higher Lake Okeechobee, the flooded Lake Flirt floodplain, Ft. Thompson falls and the underlying karst  and porous sands of the Immokalee Rise, prior to drainage of course

But “hydrologically” could it have been its source?

Imagine if you would:

• A higher pre-drainage Lake Okeechobee, 23 feet above sea level (asl).
• A fully intact Ft Thomson Falls that pooled water in the Lake Flirt floodplain, 20 ft asl
• Groundwater flowing laterally through the Immokalee Rise’s underlying karst 
• Rainwater infiltrating down into the porous sands of the Immokalee Rise  

Under that scenario, Immokalee Mountain wasn’t a dam at all, but the underground spigot that supercharged the headwaters of the swamp.

Special thanks to hydrogeologist and swamp emeritus Jack Meeder on this post!