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
Okeechobee Battlefield the "general area" of the battlefield was landmarked. In the 1980s, the National Park Service commissioned more detailed studies, and performed some archaeological work in the area, to more precisely identify the battlefield area. As a result, the landmarked area was decreased to above , most of which overlapped parts of the original designation. A marker was placed near the site in 1939, and a portion of the battlefield was purchased by the state of Florida in 2006. A volunteer group sponsors annual reenactments of the Battle of Lake Okeechobee as a fundraising activity for the park. Okeechobee Battlefield The