Florida has 21 designated Ridges by the U.S. Geological Survey. (See complete list here)
The Lake Wales Ridge, more commonly known as the Mid-Florida Ridge, is a narrow (4 to 10 miles wide) sand ridge that runs north to south stretching across 150 miles of Central Florida. The highest point of the ridge is Sugarloaf Mountain which is the highest point on the peninsula of Florida at 312 feet. It is actually the fifth highest in the state with the highest points being in the northern Florida panhandle. Iron Mountain is another high point with the Bok Tower Gardens built on the summit. The Lake Wales Ridge was formed more than a million years ago. It was believed that the ridge was formed when sea levels were higher, but more recent research has indicated that the ridge was likely formed due to an uplift from Florida’s underlying limestone system.