Lake Harney

For the lake in Oregon, see Harney Lake.
Lake Harney
Location Volusia and Seminole Counties, Florida
Coordinates 28°45′21″N 81°03′36″W / 28.755946°N 81.060003°W / 28.755946; -81.060003Coordinates: 28°45′21″N 81°03′36″W / 28.755946°N 81.060003°W / 28.755946; -81.060003
Type Flow-through lake
Primary inflows St. Johns River, Black Cypress Swamp
Primary outflows St. Johns River
Basin countries United States
Managing agency St. Johns River Water Management District
Surface area 9 sq mi (23 km2)
Average depth 7 ft (2.1 m)
Max. depth 15 ft (4.6 m)
Water volume 14,465,351,103 US gallons
Shore length1 12 mi (19 km)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Harney, named for General William S. Harney, is a lake that straddles the county line between Volusia County and Seminole County, Florida, at the coordinates latitude 28°45’21.404”, longitude 81° 03’36.019”. It is fed by the Saint Johns River which flows through central Florida and feeds many of the nearby lakes such as Lake Monroe.

History

A large amount of Lake Harney's history [?] can be credited to General William S. Harney and the wars he took part in throughout Florida. Mal Martin, in a 2001 online article, "The Naming of Lake Harney," stated, “William Selby Harney was born in Haysboro, Tennessee, on August 22, 1800.”

When he entered the military, he enlisted as a Second Lieutenant in the First United States Infantry on February 12, 1818, and remained at that rank throughout the First Seminole War which was sparked by Andrew Jackson's attack on a fort held by the Seminole people. Harney was recognized for his military abilities and raised to the rank of First Lieutenant, on January 7, 1819.

Harney continued in his military career and, after the end of the Second Seminole War, served in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, retiring on August 1, 1863, as a General. After retirement, he married a nurse and lived in Pass Christian, Mississippi, for some time. He died on May 9, 1889, in Orlando, Florida, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

There are several landmarks named in his honor, such as Harney Peak in South Dakota and Camp Harney in Zapata, Texas.

Wildlife

Lake Harney is home to a variety of species of fish, reptiles, water fowl and wading birds. It is nominally fresh water with some salt water springs throughout the area. The lake is home to a variety of fish such as largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and redear sunfish, all of which are prey to the lake's birds such as bald eagles, osprey, Crested caracara, white ibis, wood stork (Ibis), herons, cranes, cattle egrets, wild turkeys, a variety of ducks and other water fowl. The Lake Harney Wilderness Area is a protected habitat in which the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, observes several bald eagle nests in the area.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, December 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.