Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. The county seat is Okeechobee, Florida. The county comprises the Okeechobee, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area. Okeechobee County was created in 1917. It was named for the Lake Okeechobee, which was itself named for Hitchiti words oka (water) and chobi (big).
Lake Okeechobee is having area around 1800 sq kilometers and is third largest freshwater lake and fourth largest lake wholly within the United States. The lake is 60 km long and up to 40 km wide, with a maximum depth of 4.6 m.
The Kissimmee River is its chief source and the Caloosahatchee River its main outlet. In reclaiming the Everglades and adjacent lands, many canals were built extending from the southern part of the lake, itself a link in the Okeechobee Waterway.
The drained lands bordering the lake produce vegetables and sugarcane. Okeechobee Battlefield National Historic Landmark, the site of a large battle (1837) during the Seminole Wars, is very near to the lake.
