Lake Okeechobee Valley and the Everglades. The trough is underlain by clay deposits that compacted more than the limestone and sand deposits did along both coasts of peninsular Florida. Until about 6,000 years ago, the trough was dry land. As the sea level rose, the water table in Florida also rose and rainfall increased. From 6,000 to 4,000 years ago, wetlands formed building up peat deposits. Eventually the water flow into the area created a lake, drowning the wetlands. Along what is now the southern edge of the lake, the wetlands built up the layers of peat rapidly enough (reaching thick) to
Twin Lakes (Lake Wales, Florida) Twin Lakes (Lake Wales, Florida) The Twin Lakes of Lake Wales, Florida, are two small natural freshwater lakes on the south side of the city. Sometimes they are simply called Twin Lakes, but sometimes they are individually called Twin Lake West and Twin Lake East. All shores of Twin Lake West are swampy, as is the area between the two lakes. The west shore of Twin Lake East is swampy. The west lake, the larger of the two, has a water area of . The water area of the east lake is . The eastern shore of Twin Lake East