Lake Okeechobee Valley and the Everglades. The trough is underlain by clay deposits that compacted more than the limestone and sand deposits did along both coasts of peninsular Florida. Until about 6,000 years ago, the trough was dry land. As the sea level rose, the water table in Florida also rose and rainfall increased. From 6,000 to 4,000 years ago, wetlands formed building up peat deposits. Eventually the water flow into the area created a lake, drowning the wetlands. Along what is now the southern edge of the lake, the wetlands built up the layers of peat rapidly enough (reaching thick) to
Upthegrove Beach, Florida Upthegrove Beach, Florida Upthegrove Beach is an unincorporated community in Okeechobee County, Florida, United States. It is located on US 441/US 98, on the northeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. Upthegrove Beach was named for the Upthegrove (originally Op Den Graef) family, including Union Army Captain William Hendry Upthegrove and others. Robert Upthegrove, later one of the inaugural Okeechobee County commissioners, settled in the area "circa" 1912. His son, Clarence Dewitt Upthegrove (Dewitt), at one time worked for Thomas Edison in Fort Myers, and later owned a heavy equipment operation that helped build the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee and