The History of The Everglades

Spreading throughout the southern part of Florida is a large, slow moving river called the Everglades. Big Cypress Swamp, Lake Okeechobee and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge create the boundaries of this subtropical wetland that is connected by the groundwater flow from the Kissimee River into Lake Okeechobee at the very southern end of Florida. 

This “groundwater connection is essential for the maintenance of the wetland” (Everglades) and the complex systems of interdependent ecosystems. “Wading birds, alligators, crocodiles, and snail kites” (Everglades) create a biological richness that is supported by habitats that include “ponds, sloughs, graminoid, and forested wetlands” (Everglades). “Seasonal rainfall and slow drainage result in flooding by surface water” (Kushlan 109) which along with fire are an important feature of the Everglades as both “help to maintain early successional habitats” (Everglades).