It’s a swamp! It’s a marsh! It’s the Everglades!
This unique wetlands system stretches across most of the southern end of Florida. It includes freshwater marshes and tree islands. Cypress forests and shady tropical forests called hardwood hammocks. Also here are pinelands, mangroves, and coastal prairies. You can find tidal creeks and bays as well. And shallow coastal marine waters. Not to mention sloughs, or shallow channels with flowing water.
Central to this watery world is a waterway that’s 50 miles wide and 100 miles long. Known as the “river of grass,” this channel is only about six inches deep. The Everglades begins at the south end of Lake Okeechobee. From there, it stretches south and southwest toward Florida Bay.
The Everglades provides food and water for many kinds of animals. It also offers them shelter and space. In addition, the Everglades supplies fresh water to more than 9 million people in South Florida.
Tourists from the world over visit the Everglades every year, contributing millions of dollars to the surrounding communities.
