Lakes Trout and Pike are among a cluster of small (<1 km) lakes in southeastern Lake County. The physiography is described by Brooks and Merrit (1981), as The Gap, an area of lower elevation, about 25 to 37 m (85 to 120 ft) between the Sugarloaf Mountain region and No Name Ridge. The lower elevation is a result of increased erosion of the underlying limestone. A number of lakes occupy this lowland, of which Lakes Dixie, Smokehouse and Hammond were also surveyed in this study. The Gap and the flanking highlands are part of the Lake Wales Ridge, which is the topographic crest of Central Florida (Brooks, 1981). The Ridge is characterized by residual sand hills, relic beach ridges and paleo dune fields. The topography on either side of the ridge has been reduced to the water table, forming Green Swamp abour 5 km (3 mi) to the southwest and Sawgrass Bays, 3 km (2 mi) to the southeast. Lake level in December of 1995 was approximately 30 m (98 ft) NGVD. Trout Lake, the larger of the two, is fairly circular, with a perimeter of 19 km (12 mi) and a surface area of about 1km² Pike Lake is oblong with an area of 0.6 km² and a perimeter of about 3.2 km (2 mi).