Alachua Lake CAVES IN — Shocking 20,000 Acres Gone Overnight
a 20,000-acre lake in north-central Florida disappeared in roughly six weeks. Two paddle-wheel steamboats that had been running passenger and cargo service across open water the week before were left grounded on cracked mud — hulls tilted, paddles spinning at nothing. Dead alligators lined the banks. Dead fish covered the lakebed for miles. The lake had drained through a single karst hole in its floor called Alachua Sink, and underground the water rejoined the Floridan Aquifer system. Where boats once ran, cattle now walked. Today the basin is Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, just south of Gainesville, Florida. Wild bison and Spanish horses roam where steamboats once cruised. The same sinkhole that drained Alachua Lake in 1891 is still active. And as Lake Jackson 130 miles to the northwest empties at the rate of 12 billion gallons in five months, Florida Geological Survey records keep Alachua Sink under active monitoring — because what happened to Alachua Lake in 1891 is a preview of what could happen to the next Lake Jackson somewhere in north Florida. This is the full story of the most spectacular disappearing lake in Florida history — and why it still matters in 2026. SOURCES Florida State Parks — Geology of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Wikipedia — Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park HMDB.org — Alachua Sink Historical Marker Florida Backroads Travel — Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Was Once Alachua Lake WCJB — Paynes Prairie Floods After Rainiest Summer Ever Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage — Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Florida Department of Environmental Protection — Paynes Prairie Unit Management Plan Gainesville Business Report — The Evolution of Paynes Prairie If you want more disaster history every week, hit subscribe. #PaynesPrairie #AlachuaLake #Florida #Sinkhole #FloridanAquifer #LakeGone #FloridaDisaster #Gainesville #Bartram #WildHorses #Bison #SteamboatsStranded #KarstGeology #FloridaHistory #CavesIn #BreakingNews #USDisaster
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