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The Everglades
Illustration: Mangrove trees in the Everglades National Park.
 The Everglades is a vast
swampland of great beauty and mystery that occupies much of Southern Florida. Famous for it's twisted mangrove
trees with their strange aboveground roots, most of the Everglades is grass-mile upon mile of swampgrass, wafting
gently in the tropical breeze. Along water channels lurk alligators and the last remaining Florida panthers. Overhead
are birds by the hundreds, including the eligant snowy egret and the flashy-pink roseate spoonbill. in the foliage,
alert visitors can spot orchids and colorful tree snails.
The Seminoles called the Everglades "the river of grass," Indeed, most of the Everglades is a vast river-up
to 50 miles wide and barely 6 inches deep in some places. Beneath the water is a thin layer of soil over a porous
sheet of limestone. The region's heavy rainfall collects in the limestone, but is unable to penetrate the bedrock
below. So the water, covering 4,000 square miles, slowly flows to the sea.
Less than a quater of the Everglades lies within the national park. The park's southern border extends into Florida
Bay, home of playful dolphins and gentle manatees.
DID YOU KNOW....Protected within Everglades National Park, once-endangered spices such as the alligator and the
bald eagle have made remarkable comebacks.
If you would like to know more about The Everglades National Park, Visit their great website.
This site and its contents, text and graphics unless otherwise posted are copyright (c) 2002
G. Stevens/Design Unlimited - All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be distributed, reproduced or transmitted or posted
in any manner without the express written permission of the authors.
A Special Thanks To Groiler Books.
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