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| ]. Satellite image from ]. The yellow line encloses two ecoregions, the "Everglades" and the "South Florida rocklands". The South Florida rocklands ecoregion includes the Florida Keys and offshore islands and two patches within the Everglades.]] | |||
| :''] is also the name of a city in Collier County, Florida. | |||
| The '''Florida Everglades''' are ] ]land located in the southern portion of the ] of ], specifically in parts of ], ], ], ], and ] counties. | |||
| Though modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of a large ] arising in the vicinity of ] known as the ] system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into ], a very large (730 mi² or 1,890 km²), shallow (10 ft or 3 m) fresh water ]. Water leaving Lake Okeechobee in the wet season forms the Everglades, a shallow, slow-moving flood at one time 40 miles (60 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long moving southward across a nearly flat ] shelf to ] at the southern end of the state. | |||
| The Everglades extends from Lake Okeechobee on the north to Florida Bay on the south and was once bordered by ] on the west and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge on the east. It has been called '''River of Grass''' (Douglas, 1947) because of the slow flow of water from Okeechobee southward and the predominance of a ] known as ]. Slightly elevated points in this extremely flat area are covered with ]s, usually ] and red mangrove. | |||
| Some 50 percent of the original Everglades has been lost to ]. Most of the rest is now protected in a ], ], and water conservation areas. Water from the Everglades is still used as a water supply for major cities in the area, such as ]. The Everglades is crossed from west to east by a ] called "]", now part of ]. | |||
| There are several small outlets, such as the ] and the ] on the east and the ] on the southwest. There is a general south to southwesterly movement of surface water. | |||
| == History == | |||
| For much of its history, systematic exploration of the Everglades was prevented by the dense growth of ] (''Cladium jamaicense''), a sedge with very sharp saw-toothed leaves, and up to {{convert|53|in|mm}} of rainfall a year. The first ]an to enter the region was ], a Spanish captive of a Native American chief. Between 1841 and 1856 various United States military forces penetrated the Everglades for the purpose of attacking and driving out the ]s, who took refuge here. The most important explorations during the later years of the 19th century were those of Major ] in 1883, ] in 1892, and ] in 1897. The Seminoles were then practically the only inhabitants. | |||
| Spanish maps named the area ''Laguno del Espíritu Santo''. A British surveyor called the area "River Glades" (at the time a "glade" commonly meant an open grassy place in a forest or a natural pasture). The name "Everglades" first appeared on a map in 1823, although it was also spelled as two words, "Ever Glades", as late as 1851. The Seminoles call it "Pa-hay-okee", "Grassy Water".<ref>Douglas. 7-8.</ref> | |||
| In 1850 under the ], or ], practically all of the Everglades, which the state had been urging the federal government to drain and reclaim, were turned over to the state for that purpose, with the provision that all proceeds from such lands be applied to their ]. A board of trustees for the ], created in 1855 and having as members '']'' the governor, ], treasurer, attorney-general and commissioner-general, sold and allowed to ] companies much of the grant. Between 1881 and 1896 a private company owning 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km²) of the Everglades attempted to dig a ] from ] through ] and along the ] to the ]; the canal was closed in 1902 by overflows. Six canals were begun under state control in 1905 from the lake to the ], the northernmost at ], the southernmost at ]; the total cost, estimated at $1,035,000 for the reclamation of 12,500 m², was raised by a drainage tax, not to exceed ten cents per acre ($24.71/km²), levied by the trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund and Board of Drainage commissioners. | |||
| The small area reclaimed by prior to that year (1905) was found very fertile and particularly adapted to raising ], ]s and garden ]s. | |||
| ==Everglades National Park== | |||
| {{main|Everglades National Park}} | |||
| ].]] | |||
| ] preserves the southern portion of the Everglades (all south of ]), but represents only 27.3% of the original area. The Park covers 2,357 mi² (6,105 km²) and is a ]. The only highway access is the State Road 9336, running 47 miles (73 km) from ] to the coast at ]. There have been recent expansions to the park's tourist facilities to bring in more money to Florida's economy such as a massive extension to the visiting center, many outposts along the bridges that span the Everglades that teach people about the many birds and other wildlife native to the Everglades as well as a small petting zoo. | |||
| ==Encroachment== | |||
| The ] in November 1947 of ]' '']'' drew attention to the vast area that makes South Florida habitable but was being treated by ] interests and housing developers as a worthless swamp that the ] would profitably be able to drain. In early December 1947 President ] protected more than 2 million acres (8,000 km²) as ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| The strength of Mrs. Douglas's name was such that when legislation designed by lawyers representing the sugar growers' industry proposed to suspend all ] standards in the Everglades for twelve years, it was named the ''Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act''—until the 103-year old author demanded that her name be removed from the pending bill. It still passed in 1994, renamed the '']'', and was ]ed in 2003. | |||
| A settlement agreement between the federal government and the State of Florida, and approved by Judge William Hoeveler, imposed a plan to reduce damaging ] levels in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park by ], ]. Additionally, in 2004 the State of Florida adopted a 10 parts per billion numeric criteria for phosphorus within the Everglades Protection Area, which consists of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Everglades National Park, and Water Conservation Areas 2 and 3. The excessive phosphorus derives primarily from ] used by ] growers and other agricultural operations as well as construction runoff from the development of coastal areas such as Palm Beach County. Although the vast majority of the Everglades Protection Area currently meets water quality standards, approximately 10% of the area remain severely impacted. | |||
| == Restoration == | |||
| The State of Florida and the Army Corps of Engineers are undertaking various projects costing billions of dollars under the ] to help ensure the proper quantity, quality, timing and distribution of waters to the Everglades and all of South Florida. Numerous lawsuits affecting Everglades restoration are pending before the courts. | |||
| ==Non-native/Invasive species== | |||
| ] | |||
| The Everglades also face an ongoing threat from the ] ] ('']''). Sprinkled from ]s using ] and ] ]s, the tiny ]s of the ]y tree were intended to suck up the water and make the "land" of the Everglades suitable for ]. The tree remains an invasive nuisance. Additionally, the ]s in the trees are highly ], which could increase danger from ]s. | |||
| ] (Florida Holly) has also wreaked havoc on the Everglades, exhibiting a tendency to spread rapidly and crowd out native species. It is especially difficult to eradicate and is readily propagated by birds, which eat its small red berries. The Brazilian Pepper problem is not exclusive to the Everglades; however, neither is the ], which is a widespread problem in Florida's waterways and a major threat to endemic species, and is also difficult and costly to eradicate. | |||
| Native to southern Asia, the ], ''Python molurus bivittatus'' is a relatively new ] in the Everglades. This large ]'s population growth is due entirely to the indiscriminate pet trade, a growing cause of ] in the United States. Florida wildlife officials speculate that local or nearby states' residents have released their pet pythons after discovering that the snake has become too large to keep (record length in captivity: 27 ft). The Everglades habitat is perfect for ''bivittatus'', and this species is said to be reproducing rapidly. There have been at least four recorded encounters between ]s and this large ].<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4313978.stm</ref> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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| * Photo exhibit created by the State Archives of Florida | |||
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| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| *Douglas, Marjory S. 1947. ''Everglades: River of Grass''. (A revised edition was published in 1988 by Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Fl.) | |||
| *Lodge, Thomas E. 1994. ''The Everglades Handbook. Understanding the Ecosystem''. CRC Press 228 p. ISBN 1-884015-06-9 | |||
| *{{1911}} | |||
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Revision as of 12:25, 13 March 2008
FATTY