Restoration of the Everglades begins in the vicinity of Orlando. The Okeechobee River drains into Lake Okeechobee, a lake with an average depth of . During the wet season when the lake exceeds its capacity, the water leaves the lake in a very wide and shallow river, approximately long and wide. This wide and shallow flow is known as "sheetflow". The land gradually slopes toward Florida Bay, the historical destination of most of the water leaving the Everglades. Before drainage attempts, the Everglades comprised , taking up a third of the Florida peninsula. Since the early 19th century the Everglades have been a subject
South Bay, Florida 1941. The first mayor of South Bay was Aubrey (a.k.a. "Orb") Walker, who, along with his brother, Haughty D. Walker (a.k.a. "Haught"), survived the great hurricane of 1928 by gathering his family members onto a barge in the canal. South Bay is located at (26.666487, -80.718985), near the southern bank of Lake Okeechobee. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , including of land and of (26.95%) water. The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail runs through South Bay. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,859 people, 805 households, and 644 families residing