Lake Harris is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Lake County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, northwest of

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. It is part of the Upper

Ocklawaha River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is deriv ...

Basin, a sub-watershed of the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

. It is one of seven lakes in the Harris Chain of Lakes or "Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes". Lake Harris is the largest lake entirely in Lake County at . Little Lake Harris is a bay located east of SR 19; the combined area of the two lakes exceeds . The lake's northeastern shore is a landing approach zone for Leesburg International Airport. It is a harbor city for Leesburg, at the northwestern shore of the lake. At the westernmost point of the lake is

U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 or U.S. Highway 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I ...

/ SR 25. Lake Harris' primary inflow is at its southwestern shore from the Palatlakaha River, which originates from the Clermont chain of lakes to the south. Other inflowing rivers include Helena Run and discharge from many small springs in Yalaha. Lake Harris' depth is much greater than

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee ( ) is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the List of largest lakes of the United States by area, eighth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest ...

to the south, with many deeper holes and ledges. The lake is surrounded by

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and b ...

s and

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

trees, part of the Central Florida Ridge. This region has the highest elevations in

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

, including

Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain (, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a peninsula at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf suga ...

reaching above sea level. Compared to the rest of Florida, which is relatively flat, it is quite hilly. There are three public launching ramps on Lake Harris; off U.S. Route 27 to the west, Venetian Gardens in Leesburg, and Hickory Point near the Howey-in-the-Hills bridge off SR 19. There is a small but serviceable ramp on the east side of Little Lake Harris in Astatula. The lake is generally lined with cattail and bullrush. The depth in these tall grasses normally ranges from . The bottom is mostly hard sand, except for some marshy areas where the bottom is considerably softer. These sheltered areas around the shore can offer a good place to fish during inclement weather. Lake Harris derives its name from Ebenezer Jackson Harris (1815–1885), a pioneer resident who lived at Yalaha on the south side of the lake in the 1840s. Lake Harris had been originally called "Lake Eustis" since 1823, in honor of Colonel Abraham Eustis. A freshwater lake to the north, the modern-day Lake Eustis, now honors the veteran officer. Lake Eustis is connected by the Dead River directly to Lake Harris, which was also known by its

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

name ''Astatula''.Lake County, Florida Water Atlas
/ref> File:HarrisLake Channel.jpg, View of Helena Run channel in Lake Harris. File:Great Egret HarrisLake.jpg, Great egret in Helena Run channel in Lake Harris File:ManateeSign HarrisLake.jpg, Manatee Sign File:Buoy HarrisLake.jpg, Buoy on Lake Harris

References

External links

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Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...