where is lake wales ridge, lake placid fl
Lake Wales Ridge. The peninsula of Florida is young, geologically speaking, built on sands of ancient oceans. But before a peninsula formed, a string of islands marked what is now the peninsulaâs highest ridgeâthe Lake Wales Ridge, a backbone running nearly 150 miles from Lake County to Highlands County. Atop these former islands, shining white quartz sands host diminutive species dating back to the Miocene, the oldest plant and animal species in peninsular Florida, in a habitat known as Floridaâs desert, the scrub.