Lake Size: 30,671 Acres
Shoreline Length (Miles): 40 miles
Deepest Depth: 18 feet
Latitude: 28.620556
Longitude: -81.621944
Lake Level Above Sea Level: 69 feet
Counties: Orange and Lake County
Cities: Ocoee

Information: Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in Florida. It is located west of Orlando and mostly in Orange County, but the western part is in Lake County. Fed by a natural spring, rainfall and stormwater runoff, water from Lake Apopka flows through the Apopka-Beauclair Canal and into Lakes Beauclair and Dora. From Lake Dora, water flows into Lake Eustis, then into Lake Griffin and then northward into the Ocklawaha River, which flows into the St. Johns River. Through the 1940s, Lake Apopka was one of central Florida’s main attractions. Anglers traveled from throughout the United States fish for trophy-sized bass in Lake Apopka, and 21 fish camps lined the lake’s shoreline. Lake Apopka has a history of more than 100 years of human alteration, beginning with construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1888. In 1941, a levee was built along the north shore to drain 20,000 acres (80 km²) of shallow marsh for farming. The discharge of water, rich in nutrients from agricultural and other sources, produced conditions that created a chronic algal bloom and resulted in loss of the lake’s recreational value and game fish populations.