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Palm Beach County accounts of early settlement in the late 1800’s depicted the original Chain-of-Lakes as part of an extensive system of shallow lakes and adjacent wetlands. Lake shoreline configurations of 1883 and 1969 show the tremendous loss in lake and wetland area that has occurred within the last hundred years. Well over 50% of the historic system has been lost to overdrainage. The chain of once natural freshwater lakes lies along the western slope of the coastal ridge in Palm Beach County. Mangonia and Clear Lakes serve as water supply reservoirs for the City of West Palm Beach. Proceeding southward are Pine Lake, Lake Clarke, Lake Osborne and its appendage Square Lake, and Lakes Ida and Eden. Several small natural lakes that were once part of the chain have been completely eliminated through drainage and filling or are now merely wide spots in the canal network which interconnects the larges lakes and the drainage canals that flow to tidewater. The existing hydrologic regime of the Chain-of-Lakes (COL) is quite complex and is regulated by a number of man-made canals and water structures. Depending on the operation of the various control structures, water can move either from north-to-south or south-to-north.
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 Coastal Resources |
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Lakes,
Estuaries and Lagoons |
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Mosquito Control |
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Natural Areas |
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Permitting and Regulation |
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