Lake Okeechobee the Indian Prairie into Lake Okeechobee. Today Lake Istokpoga drains into Lake Okeechobee through several canals that drain the Indian Prairie, and into the Kissimmee River through a canal that has replaced Istokpoga Creek. Historically, outflow from the lake was by sheet flow over the Everglades, but most of the outflow has been diverted to dredged canals connecting to coastal rivers, such as the Miami Canal to the Miami River, the New River on the east, and the Caloosahatchee River (via the Caloosahatchee Canal and Lake Hicpochee) on the southwest. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Congressionally
Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee (), also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the ninth largest natural freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest natural freshwater lake (the largest being Lake Michigan) contained entirely within the contiguous United States. Okeechobee covers , approximately half the size of the state of Rhode Island, and is exceptionally shallow for a lake of its size, with an average depth of only . The lake is divided between Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, and Hendry counties. All five counties meet at