Belle Glade

Belle Glade is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2011, the city had a population of 17,667.Belle Glade (and the surrounding area) is sometimes referred to as "Muck City" due to the large quantity of muck, in which sugarcane grows, found in the area. About half the sugarcane in the nation is grown in the plains around Belle Glade and nearby Clewiston. Despite being located in the South Florida region of the state, Belle Glade is culturally more associated with the Florida Heartland.For a time during the early to mid 1980s, the city had the highest rate of AIDS infection per capita (37 cases in a population of roughly 19,000) in the United States. According to the FBI, in 2003, the city had the second highest violent crime rate in the country at 298 per 10,000 residents.GeographyBelle Glade is located at.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7sqmi, of which 4.7sqmi are land and 0.21% is water.HistoryThe existence of Belle Glade is related to the federal project of draining the land around Lake Okeechobee, the acreage to be used for agriculture. The town was built in 1925 and destroyed three years later by a hurricane which killed thousands of people. The town was subsequently rebuilt. The area around Lake Okeechobee is fertile and farming has been an important industry.