224 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT.
The prevailing vegetation of the lake region is of the "high pine land" type. Scattered through the region, usually but not always on snow-white sand, and apparently not bearing any constant topographic relation to the high pine land, is a very different type of vegetation known as "scrub," consisting chiefly of spruce pines and small evergreen oaks. This is very characteristic of the lake region, but not confined to it, being found also on the old dunes near the coasts of East and West Florida, and in a few other parts of the State. High and low hammocks, saw-grass marshes and cypress swamps, are common in the vicinity of the larger lakes.
The country for a fewv miles on either side of the St. Johns River is mostly of the flatwoods type, and might perhaps be justly regarded as a distinct subdivision; but it happens that mi-ost of the lakes along this river are within what is here mapped as the lake region, and probably no serious error will result from including this part of the St. Johns valley with the country on either side of it.
The lakes of this region having no subterranean outlets, and being located among sandy hills which retain water somewhat in the manner of a sponge, do not vary much in level with the seasons.' In the smaller lakes, therefore, and in the shallower parts of the larger lakes, conditions are ideal for the formation of peat. It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that peat of excellent quality can be found in every square mile of the lake region. The various classes of swamps, bogs, marshes, etc., in this region will be described in the next chapter, and analyses will be found farther on, under localities 3,)4,12 to 1 8, 19, 22, 23,
The climate data given on page 2T5 are f or a station in the heart of this region.
EAST FLORIDA FLATWOODS.
(PLATES 14.3, 15.1, 23.1, 28. FIG. 24)
An area of about 4000 square miles in the northeastern corner of the State is comparatively flat, but with considerable elevation at distances Of 40 miles or more from the coast. Near the rivers, and along the western edge, there has been enough erosion to give the region somewhat the character of a dissected table-land, but over the greater part of the area streams and valleys have never