Orange Lake is a roughly 12,550-acre natural marsh lake in Alachua County about 20 miles southeast of Gainesville, with shoreline shared toward Marion County. It is the largest lake in the Orange Creek basin of the lower Ocklawaha / St. Johns watershed. Water levels are monitored by the St. Johns River Water Management District, and the lake is designated an Outstanding Florida Water and an FWC Fish Management Area.

Orange averages about 5.5 feet deep and reaches about 12 feet, with extensive perimeter and interior marshes, floating vegetation, and three permanent islands. Surface area can shrink or expand dramatically with rainfall. Inflows arrive from Lochloosa Lake via Cross Creek and from the Newnans Lake system via Prairie Creek, River Styx, and Camps Canal; high-stage outflow crosses the SR-301 fixed-crest weir into Orange Creek toward Rodman Reservoir, while sinkholes also drain water to the Floridan aquifer.

The lake is famous for trophy largemouth bass and strong panfish fishing, managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Public ramps at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Park and Heagy Burry Park, plus Orange Creek Conservation Area lands, support anglers and wildlife viewers.

Unlike Corps reservoirs, Orange Lake is not held to a full-pool rule curve; the SR-301 weir and sinkhole drainage set the stage response. SJRWMD reports elevations on NAVD88. Because acres of marsh flood or dry with only a few feet of stage change, monitoring current lake levels is essential for navigation and fishing—and for understanding connections toward Rodman Reservoir.

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