Lake Talquin

Lake Talquin
viewed from Wallwood Scout Camp on the north shore, looking to the northeast (October 2007)
outline
Location	Gadsden / Leon counties, Florida, United States
Coordinates	30°23′19″N 84°38′48″W / 30.38861°N 84.64667°W / 30.38861; -84.64667Coordinates: 30°23′19″N 84°38′48″W / 30.38861°N 84.64667°W / 30.38861; -84.64667
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Ochlockonee River
Primary outflows	Ochlockonee River
Basin countries	United States

Lake Talquin is a reservoir located on the Ochlockonee River between Leon County and Gadsden County in north Florida. The lake, located about 10 miles (15 km) west of Tallahassee, is south of Interstate 10 and bordered by State Road 20 on the east and State Road 267 on the west.

The lake was created by the construction of the Talquin Dam, and used for the generation of hydroelectric power. The name Talquin is a contraction of the names of the two cities the lake lies between, Tallahassee and Quincy.

History

In 1927 the Jackson Bluff Dam was constructed on the Ochlockonee River to produce hydroelectric power. The waters held back by the dam formed Lake Talquin.

On August 18, 1962, the lake was the site of a tragedy when 17 children and one adult drowned in the capsizing of a boat while they were on an outing.^[1]

In 1971, approximately 20,000 acres (80 km²) of uplands and 10,000 acres (40 km²) of lake bottom were donated by the Florida Power Corporation to the State of Florida to form Lake Talquin State Recreation Area. Much of the shore of the lake is part of Lake Talquin State Forest. The waters that now cover Lake Talquin’s floodplain are shallow except along the old channel of the river. The abundance of dead trees and stumps scattered about are reminders of the rich floodplain forest that once covered the area before the lake was formed. Most of the stumps can be found right under the water on the eastern end of the lake causing problems for boaters.

The lake is unusual insofar as its easternmost point is only 11 miles from Florida's state capital of Tallahassee, yet its shores remain pristine and recreational use remains sparse even today.

Vegetation

The area has forests of pines and hardwoods including sweetgum and a variety of oaks.

Topography

Rolling hills and deep ravines surround the lake. The water level is usually at the 70-ft contour (70 feet above sea level), but it can vary by as much as 3 feet. The lake's nominal surface area is about 10,000 acres, or about 15 square miles, but because of the shallow gradient in some of the inlets and the seasonal variations in water level, it is not possible to state a more precise figure for the size of the lake.

The lake's shoreline measures more than 40 miles, and considerably more if one includes all of the nooks and crannies of the numerous inlets. Most of this shoreline is public land, and is therefore undeveloped.

Most of the lake measures approximately 1 mile in width. The total length of the lake is almost 20 miles (depending on where one decides the river ends and the lake begins).

Wildlife

Eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, wild turkey, bald eagles, ospreys, alligators and whitetail deer are found in the forests surrounding the lake. Also commonly seen are egrets, blue herons, water turtles of several varieties, and water snakes, including water moccasins. Insect life is abundant, and mosquitoes and chiggers in particular can be troublesome during the summer months.

Recreation

Lake Talquin State Forest encompasses much of the southern and southwestern shores of the lake, with many boat landings and picnic areas, including Rock Bluff Recreation Area in Leon County. There are facilities for private picnics, parties, family reunions, weddings and receptions.

The lake is also home to the Florida State University Crew Club, a rowing club.

Most of the shoreline and bottom is muddy rather than sandy, and swimmers need to keep in mind that they are sharing the water with alligators, turtles, and snakes (particularly at the eastern end of the lake). Only some parts of the lake are suitable for water skiing as there are many submerged stumps that are not easily visible. The lake is, however, a good spot for day-sailing and canoeing, and the scenery is beautiful.

Fishing

Lake Talquin has largemouth and striped bass, crappie, bream, shellcrackers, speckled perch, striped pickerel (commonly called "jack"), gar, catfish, and bowfin.

External links

References

↑ "Seventeen Children Drown While On Church Outing", Ocala (FL) Star-Banner, August 19, 1962, p1

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Significant waterways of Florida

Larger rivers	Alapaha Apalachicola Aucilla Blackwater Caloosahatchee Chattahoochee Chipola Choctawhatchee Econlockhatchee Escambia Hillsborough Indian River Kissimmee Myakka Ochlockonee Ocklawaha Pea Peace Perdido Santa Fe St. Johns St. Marys Suwannee Withlacoochee (North) Withlacoochee (South) Yellow

Lakes	Apopka Crescent Blue Cypress East Tohopekaliga George Harney Harris Iamonia Istokpoga Jackson Jesup Kissimmee Miccosukee Monroe Okeechobee Poinsett Rodman Rousseau Seminole Talquin Tohopekaliga Tsala Apopka Washington Weir

Smaller rivers	Alafia Alapahoochee Anclote Banana River Braden Carrabelle Chassahowitzka Crooked Crystal Dead East East Bay Eau Gallie Econfina Estero Homosassa Hontoon Dead Ichetucknee Imperial Little (Biscayne Bay) Little (Ochlockonee) Little Econlockhatchee Little Manatee Little Wekiva Loxahatchee Manatee Matanzas Miami Mosquito Lagoon New (Broward) New (Carabelle) New (Santa Fe) Oleta Orange Pithlachascotee Rainbow Ribault Shark Silver Sopchoppy St. Lucie St. Marks St. Sebastian Steinhatchee Tomoka Trout Waccasassa Wacissa Wakulla Weeki Wachee Wekiva

Creeks and streams	Billy Black Blackwater (Hillsborough) Blackwater (Lake) Crane Cross Econfina Fisheating Myakkahatchee Orange Pottsburg Shingle Snapper Turkey

Canals	Canaveral Barge Canal Cross Florida Barge Canal Haulover Canal Hillsboro Canal Miami Canal Mud Lake Canal St. Johns-Indian River Barge Canal Tamiami Canal Tampa Bypass Canal

See also	Coastal waters of Florida Everglades Intracoastal Waterway Indian River Lagoon List of Florida rivers List of major springs in Florida Okeechobee Waterway Okefenokee Swamp Outstanding Florida Waters Paynes Prairie

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