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 one point near the center of the lake. The name "Okeechobee" comes from the Hitchiti words "oki" (water) and "chubi" (big). Mayaimi, meaning "big water," is the oldest known name, as reported in the 16th century, by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda. Slightly later in the 16th century René Goulaine de Laudonnière reported hearing about a large freshwater lake in southern Florida called "Serrope". By the 18th century the largely mythical lake was known to British mapmakers and chroniclers by the Spanish name "Laguna de Espiritu Santo." In the early 19th century it was known as "Mayacco Lake" or "Lake Mayaca"