Across the state, through the Everglades.
April 29, 2007
I drove back to the Gulf side of the state. I had never seen an alligator in "real life" before, only in captivity. So my mission was to see at least one alligator! Which, finally I did. :)
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Wildlife in the Florida marshlands
Most of the southren hunk of Florida is what is known as the Everglades. A subtropical Marshland, the Everglades is a perfect place to see lots of wildlife, particularly alligators, dolphins, panthers, ospreys ... etc etc...
from Wikipedia:
"The Florida Everglades are subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, specifically in parts of Monroe, Collier, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties.
"Though modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of a large watershed arising in the vicinity of Orlando known as the Kissimmee River system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a very large (730 mi² or 1,890 km²), shallow (10 ft or 3 m) fresh water lake. 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 limestone shelf to Florida Bay 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 Big Cypress Swamp 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 sedge known as sawgrass. Slightly elevated points in this extremely flat area are covered with trees, usually cypress and red mangrove.
"
from Wikipedia:
"The Florida Everglades are subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, specifically in parts of Monroe, Collier, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties.
"Though modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of a large watershed arising in the vicinity of Orlando known as the Kissimmee River system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a very large (730 mi² or 1,890 km²), shallow (10 ft or 3 m) fresh water lake. 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 limestone shelf to Florida Bay 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 Big Cypress Swamp 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 sedge known as sawgrass. Slightly elevated points in this extremely flat area are covered with trees, usually cypress and red mangrove.
"
