de Montmollin, Wanda, August 1983 - Environmental Factors and Prehistoric Site Location in the Tampa Bay Area Abstract: An assessment of the prehistoric sites located within three central Florida counties was made, based on ecological features considered to be influential forces in prehistoric archaeological site location decisions. Each county was assessed in terms of physical location, site type, site category, cultural/temporal affiliation, site size, vegetation association, distance to water sources, soils and concomitant soil drainage patterns. This 573 site assessment was accomplished by using a 61 variable SAS computer program. Although approximately 21 percent of Pinellas County's archaeological sites have been registered in the Florida Master Site File since 1974, very little excavation has been accomplished in recent years. This also holds true for Pasco County, where 70 percent of the sites have been added to the Florida Master Site File since 1974. Hillsborough County has had 36 percent of its sites added since 1974. Thus, more than 67 percent of the total sites listed for these three counties within the Florida Master Site File are known on the sole basis of surface collection. The Florida Master Site File is the main repository of information about those sites known solely on the basis of surface collection. .