Lake Hancock is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 located north of Bartow, Florida

Bartow, Florida

Bartow is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow the first brigade commander to die in combat during the American Civil War. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Census, the city had a...

 in Polk County

Polk County, Florida

Polk County is located in central Florida between the Tampa Bay and Greater Orlando metropolitan areas. The county was established by the state government in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War and named after former United States president James K. Polk. The county seat is Bartow and its...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Lake Hancock is located in the Polk Upland area between the Winter Haven Ridge and Lakeland Ridge. As part of the upper Peace River

Peace River (Florida)

The Peace River is a river in the southwestern part of the Florida peninsula, in the U.S.A.. It originates at the juncture of Saddle Creek and Peace Creek northeast of Bartow in Polk County and flows south through Hardee County to Arcadia in DeSoto County and then southwest into the Charlotte...

 watershed, the lake has ecological importance throughout southwest Florida according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Lake Hancock is shallow with an average depth of four feet and a maximum depth of 16 feet (4.9 m). At 4573 acres (18.5 km²), the lake is one of the largest lakes in Polk County, Florida; the center of the cities of Bartow, Lakeland, and Winter Haven roughly form an equilateral triangle with sides of 12 miles (19.3 km) and Lake Hancock forms over 25% of that triangle. The first settlements in the area occurred in 1849 when small farms were established in the area as a result of migration from a hurricane in the Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...

 area.

Flora and Fauna

The lake is surrounded by cypress forests with the understory primarily red maple and black willow. The open areas of the lake are relatively free from native vegetation, although hydrilla can occasionally be an issue and algae is abundant.

There is a substantial American alligator

American Alligator

The American alligator , sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator, is a reptile endemic only to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two living species of alligator, in the genus Alligator, within the family Alligatoridae...

 presence along the shoreline feeding on one of the largest colonial wading bird rookeries in central Florida. Although many lakes in Polk County are utilized by sports fishermen, Lake Hancock has not been used for recreational fishing in decades. The dominant fish in the lake are blue tilapia

Oreochromis aureus

Oreochromis aureus is a species of fish in the Cichlidae family. Native to Northern and Western Africa, and the Middle East, through introductions it is now also established elsewhere, including parts of the United States, where it has been declared an invasive species and has caused significant...

 and threadfin shad

Threadfin shad

The threadfin shad, Dorosoma petenense, is a small pelagic fish common in rivers, large streams, and reservoirs of the Southeastern United States. Like the American gizzard shad, the threadfin shad has an elongated dorsal ray, but unlike the gizzard shad its mouth is more terminal without...

, and suckermouth catfish

Suckermouth catfish

Suckermouth catfish may refer to:* Any species of armored catfish , most notably:** Hypostomus plecostomus and Hypostomus punctatus, two species of armored catfish popular with aquarists....

.