About the Florida Everglades
The Everglades are a subtropical wetland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. This 5,000-year-old geologic and ecological formation comprises the southern half of a large watershed beginning in the vicinity of Orlando known as the Kissimmee River system. The name refers to the geographic formation of the watershed from Lake Okeechobee south to Florida Bay, as well as the interconnected ecosystems within the boundary. It is such a unique convergence of land, water, and climate that the use of singular and plural to refer to the Everglades is appropriate.[1] The Kissimmee River discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a vast shallow fresh water lake. Water leaving Lake Okeechobee in the wet season forms the Everglades, a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long, moving southward across a nearly flat limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. Characteristics of the climate of South Florida include annual wet and dry seasons, and the region has a history of recurring flooding and drought that has shaped the natural environment.
The Everglades are ever-changing, formed by the presence and quality of water, the rock underneath, and the recurrence and severity of fire. Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a key figure in drawing public attention to the Everglades, popularized the term "River of Grass" to describe water flowing slowly from Lake Okeechobee southward, and the predominance of a sedge known as sawgrass. The sawgrass marshes and freshwater sloughs are a part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps, the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rockland, and the marine environment of Florida Bay.
People began living in the southern portion of the peninsula 15,000 years ago, when it was an arid landscape. By the time the regular flooding from Lake Okeechobee had occurred, two major tribes lived in and around Everglades ecosystems, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Following more than 200 years of contact with the Spanish, both societies declined, leaving little evidence of their existence other than shell mounds throughout the region. The Seminoles, a tribe of Creeks who assimilated other people into their own, were formed, and made their living in the Everglades region after being forced there by the Seminole Wars in the 1800s. The Seminoles continue to live in and around the Everglades.
The Seminole Wars gave the U.S. military the opportunity to map features in the Everglades that had not previously been recorded. Drainage was suggested in 1848 and preliminary studies were done, but the first earnest attempts at building canals to drain the Everglades were sponsored by a real estate developer named Hamilton Disston in 1882. Though Disston's canals were ineffective, his land purchase stimulated the economy of Florida, attracting developers and railroads. A candidate for governor of Florida in 1904 based his campaign platform on Everglades reclamation. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was elected, and the canals were constructed between 1906 and 1920 that began draining water from South Florida. Two catastrophic hurricanes in the 1920s changed the focus of engineers from drainage to flood control, and a dike was built around Lake Okeechobee. A drought followed, however, and wildfires damaged millions of acres. Floods occurred again in 1947, and U.S. Congress formed the Central & Southern Florida Flood Control Project that built 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canals, levees, and water control devices, and established an agricultural area where sugarcane became the primary crop. The South Florida metropolitan area grew substantially at this time and water was diverted to cities at the expense of areas in the Everglades. Approximately 50 percent of the original Everglades were turned into agriculture and urban development areas.[2] When a large airport was proposed to be built 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Everglades National Park, an environmental study predicted it would destroy the South Florida ecosystem. Restoring the Everglades then became a priority.
With national attention turning to problems of the environment in the 1970s, conservation of the Everglades became an international issue. Restoration began when the C-38 canal that straightened the Kissimmee River began to be backfilled, and cattle grazing areas formed by the canal returned to 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of marshland throughout the 1980s and 1990s. At the same time water quality became a significant concern for Lake Okeechobee and South Florida's water source. A report published by the governor of Florida in 1994 stated the quality of life for residents of the South Florida metropolitan area had deteriorated, the area was unable to sustain itself, and if the natural balance was not restored, conditions for people would worsen rapidly. In 2000, a plan to restore the Everglades was submitted to Congress that was to date the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in human history. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was signed into law, but the same politics and divisive interests that had affected the region for the previous 50 years have compromised the plan, which may be eliminated.
This information is quoted from Wikipedia . More information on the Everglades is available here
Everglades National Park by the National Park Service
The boundaries of Everglades National Park protect only the southern one-fifth of the historic Everglades ecosystem. In its entirety, this massive watershed boasts a multitude of habitats that provide a subtropical refuge to a unique assemblage of wildlife.
With the passage of time and the growth of human population centers in south Florida, the park serves a new role-- serving as a touchstone against which to guage the impacts of man on the natural world. Scientific study is the key to better understanding, and managing, the resources entrusted to our care and protection.
natural features & ecosystems includes:
Hardwood Hammock
Pineland
Mangrove
Coastal Lowlands
Freshwater Slough
Freshwater Marl Prairie
Cypress
Marine & Estuarine
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