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
Charlotte River (Florida) Charlotte River (Florida) The Charlotte River (also Macaco River) is a former name for what was thought to be a continuous river draining Lake Okeechobee (formerly Lake Macaco) into Charlotte Harbor. Although an 1842 map indicates that the Charlotte was the same as the Caloosahatchee River, other sources distinguish the two from each other. Most maps that include the river show it following what is now known as Shell Creek east from the Peace River and splitting into multiple branches, with the south branch receiving water from Lake Macaco, a north or northeast branch, and a central branch labeled as