A 12-billion-gallon Florida lake vanished overnight, leaving stunned residents staring at a giant muddy hole. The massive Lake Jackson basin suddenly drained completely as its natural plumbing gave way.
Lake Jackson, a 4,000-acre lake just outside Tallahassee, Florida, drained into underground caves through a sinkhole in its floor over the course of several months. The lake, which once held about 12 billion gallons of water, is now largely exposed mud and sediment. The drain began in late November 2025, after months of drought in the region, and continued into early 2026. By March, vegetation was…
Florida’s massive lake vanished overnight, leaving cracked mud where 400,000 people’s drinking water once sat. The enormous body of water drained directly underground through a widening sinkhole, raising urgent alarms across the state.
Lake Jackson, a roughly 4,000-acre lake north of Tallahassee, Florida, has drained into a sinkhole at its bottom, leaving cracked mud where open water stood less than six months ago. The basin began emptying in late November 2025, during a period of deepening drought in the region. By early December, the lake bed was exposed, revealing a 28-foot-deep opening known as Porter Sink. Brief rainfall te…