Okeechobee chart datum

[woodscrew]

Just crossed Lake O today with lake at 15.55’. Got to thinking, given the widely varying lake levels, what does Navionics or anyone else use as the base line lake level to determine the depths shown on the charts? Levels can vary by 7’ so pretty significant difference. Not like the low tide depths shown in tidal waters which are fairly predictable into the future, lake levels (obviously) are dependent on rainfall amounts and the Army Corps controls.

 

[O C Diver]

The shallowest parts of the lake (if following route 1) is coming off the lake to Clewiston and the approach (from the lake) to the Port Mayaca lock on the South side of the channel. If you use the Route 1 level on this page, it's pretty accurate for the shallowest parts. Obviously you may want to add a little safety when considering your draft relative to the water depth. This assumes you stay in the channels.

Outside the channels, depths probably haven't been surveyed in decades.

https://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/currentLL.shtml

Ted