Southwest Florida Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its sugar white sand beaches, lush tropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. For some purposes, the inland counties of DeSoto, Glades, and Hendry, and the thinly populated mainland section of Monroe County, south of Collier, are also
Effects of the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane in Florida boom began faltering after the 1926 Miami hurricane and real estate scams. Inland, the communities along the shore of Lake Okeechobee were mostly an agrarian society. Agricultural productivity rapidly took hold in the area due to the rich, black muck soil. Prior to the 1928 hurricane, Lake Okeechobee was surrounded by a mud dike averaging in height. The southwest side of dike was breached during the 1926 Miami hurricane, devastating Clewiston and Moore Haven and drowning as many as 300 people. Since 1924, the Florida Legislature attempted to secure authorization and funding for flood control around Lake Okeechobee. However, according