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103-582: Everglades National Park is a national park of the United States that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida . The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River . An average of one million people visit the park each year. Everglades is the third-largest national park in

206-424: A chapter on its disappearance. She wrote: "What had been a river of grass and sweet water that had given meaning and life and uniqueness to this enormous geography through centuries in which man had no place here was made, in one chaotic gesture of greed and ignorance and folly, a river of fire." The book has sold 500,000 copies since its publication, and Douglas's continued dedication to ecology conservation earned her

309-570: A deeper aquifer has a lower permeable unit that confines the upward flow, then the water level in this aquifer may rise to a level that is greater or less than the elevation of the actual water table. The elevation of the water in this deeper well is dependent upon the pressure in the deeper aquifer and is referred to as the potentiometric surface , not the water table. The water table may vary due to seasonal changes such as precipitation and evapotranspiration . In undeveloped regions with permeable soils that receive sufficient amounts of precipitation,

412-451: A dense forest in the middle of a freshwater marl prairie. Closer to Flamingo, more rugged trails take visitors through mangrove swamps, along Florida Bay. Christian Point Trail, Snake Bight Trail, Rowdy Bend Trail and Coastal Prairie Trail allow viewing of shorebirds and wading birds among the mangroves. Portions of the trails may be impassable depending on the time of year, because of mosquitoes and water levels. Ranger-led tours take place in

515-414: A drought severe enough to cause serious wildfires in 1939. The influx of humans had a detrimental effect on the plants and animals of the region when melaleuca trees ( Melaleuca quinquenervia ) were introduced to help with drainage, along with Australian pines brought in by developers as windbreaks . The region's timber was devastated for lumber supplies. Alligators, birds, frogs, and fish were hunted on

618-491: A large scale. Entire rookeries of wading birds were shot to collect their plumes, which were used in women's hats in the early 20th century. The largest impact people had on the region was the diversion of water away from the Everglades. Canals were deepened and widened, and water levels fell dramatically, causing chaos in food webs . Salt water replaced fresh water in the canals, and by 1997 scientists noticed that salt water

721-415: A night or $ 10 a night for backcountry permits. Visitors spent $ 2.6 million within the park and $ 48 million in local economies. More than 900 jobs were sustained or created within or by the park, and the park added value of $ 35 million to local economies. Everglades National Park has had 19 superintendents since it was dedicated in 1947. The park's first superintendent, Daniel Beard (1947-1958),

824-521: A single large community near the mouth of the Miami River , while the Calusa lived in 30 villages. Both groups traveled through the Everglades but rarely lived within them, remaining mostly along the coast. The diets of both groups consisted mostly of shellfish and fish, small mammals, game, and wild plants. Having access only to soft limestone, most of the tools fashioned by Native Americans in

927-618: A variety of epiphytes. Twenty-eight miles (45 km) of trails start near the Long Pine Key campgrounds and wind through Long Pine Key, well-suited for offroad cycling through the pine rocklands in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness. Two boardwalks allow visitors to walk through a cypress forest at Pa-Hay-O-Kee, which also features a two-story overlook, and another at Mahogany Hammock (referring to Swietenia mahagoni ) that takes hikers through

1030-540: Is Gateway Arch National Park , Missouri , at 192.83 acres (0.7804 km ). The total area protected by national parks is approximately 52.4 million acres (212,000 km ), for an average of 833 thousand acres (3,370 km ) but a median of only 220 thousand acres (890 km ). The national parks set a visitation record in 2021, with more than 92 million visitors. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee has been

1133-1003: Is an important part of the Great Florida Birding Trail . It has great biodiversity and many species of birds for bird watching and bird photography also. List of national parks of the United States The United States has 63 national parks , which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service , an agency of the Department of the Interior . National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, and recreational opportunities, typically "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena." While legislatively all units of

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1236-411: Is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for several millennia and occurs mainly in deserts . It is non-renewable by present-day rainfall due to its depth below the surface, and any extraction causes a permanent change in the water table in such regions. Most crops need a water table at a minimum depth. For some important food and fiber crops a classification was made because at shallower depths

1339-801: Is nearly impenetrable; beneath the canopy hammocks is an ideal habitat for animals. Reptiles (such as various species of snake and anole ) and amphibians (such as the American green tree frog , Hyla cinerea ), live in the hardwood hammocks. Birds such as barred owls ( Strix varia ), woodpeckers , northern cardinals ( Cardinalis cardinalis ), and southern bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus ) nest in hammock trees. Mammal species living in hardwood hammocks include Florida black bears ( Ursus americanus floridanus ), red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ), minks ( Neogale vison ), marsh rabbits ( Sylvilagus palustris ), gray foxes ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), and

1442-525: Is relatively and consistently flat. The limestone that underlies the Everglades is integral to the diverse ecosystems within the park. Florida was once part of the African portion of the supercontinent Gondwana . After it separated, conditions allowed a shallow marine environment to deposit calcium carbonate in sand, shells, and coral to be converted into limestone. Tiny bits of shell, sand, and bryozoans compressed over multiple layers forming structures in

1545-442: Is required for fishing. Fresh water licenses are not sold in the park, but a salt water license may be available. Swimming is not recommended within the park boundaries; water moccasins, snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina ), alligators, and crocodiles thrive in fresh water. Sharks, barracuda, and sharp dangerous coral are plentiful in salt water. Visibility is low in both salt water and fresh water areas. Everglades National Park

1648-720: Is the largest continuous system of mangroves in the world. Within the Florida mangrove systems live 220 species of fish, and a variety of crabs, crayfish , shrimp, mollusks , and other invertebrates , which serve as the main source of food for many birds. Dozens of bird species use mangroves as nurseries and food stores, including pelicans , grebes , tricolored herons ( Egretta tricolor ), gulls , terns , hawks and kites, and arboreal birds like mangrove cuckoos ( Coccyzus minor ), yellow warblers ( Dendroica petechia ), and white-crowned pigeons ( Patagioenas leucocephala ). The mangroves also support 24 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 18 species of mammals, including

1751-411: Is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be visualized as the "surface" of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. The groundwater may be from precipitation or from groundwater flowing into the aquifer. In areas with sufficient precipitation, water infiltrates through pore spaces in

1854-457: The Floridan aquifer lies about 1,000 feet (300 m) below the surface of South Florida . The Everglades has an immense capacity for water storage, owing to the permeable limestone beneath the exposed land. Most of the water arrives in the form of rainfall, and a significant amount is stored in the limestone. Water evaporating from the Everglades becomes rain over metropolitan areas, providing

1957-656: The Ten Thousand Islands to Cape Sable . Communities developed on the two largest pieces of dry ground in the area, on Chokoloskee Island and at Flamingo on Cape Sable, both of which established post offices in the early 1890s. Chokoloskee Island is a shell mound, a midden built roughly 20 feet (6 m) high over thousands of years of occupation by the Calusa. The settlements in Chokoloskee and Flamingo served as trading centers for small populations of farmers, fishermen, and charcoal burners settled in

2060-609: The contiguous United States after Death Valley and Yellowstone . UNESCO declared the Everglades & Dry Tortugas Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and listed the park as a World Heritage Site in 1979, and the Ramsar Convention included the park on its list of Wetlands of International Importance in 1987. Everglades is one of only three locations in the world to appear on all three lists. Most national parks preserve unique geographic features; Everglades National Park

2163-602: The territories of American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The state with the most national parks is California with nine, followed by Alaska with eight, Utah with five, and Colorado with four. The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km ), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states . The next three largest parks are also in Alaska. The smallest park

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2266-545: The 18th century, invading Creeks incorporated the dwindling numbers of the Tequesta into their own. Neither the Tequesta nor Calusa tribe existed by 1800. Disease, warfare, and capture for slavery were the reasons for the eradication of both groups. The only evidence of their existence within the park boundaries is a series of shell mounds that were built by the Calusa. In the first half of the 19th century, people call Spanish Indians and Muspas lived in southern Florida. At

2369-475: The 1920s, a population boom in South Florida created the Florida land boom , which was described by author Michael Grunwald as "insanity". Land was sold before any homes or structures were built on it and in some cases before any plans for construction were in place. New landowners, eager to make good on their investments, hastily constructed homes and small towns on recently drained land. Mangrove trees on

2472-653: The Everglades is a politically charged issue in South Florida. Everglades National Park covers 1,508,976 acres (2,357.8 sq mi; 6,106.6 km), throughout Dade , Monroe , and Collier counties in Florida, at the southern tip of the Atlantic coastal plain . The elevation typically ranges from 0 to 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level , but a Calusa -built shell mound on the Gulf Coast rises 20 feet (6.1 m) above sea level. The terrain of South Florida

2575-621: The Everglades attract a great variety of waders such as herons , egrets , roseate spoonbills ( Platalea ajaja ), ibises and brown pelicans ( Pelecanus occidentalis ), as well as limpkins ( Aramus guarauna ) and snail kites that eat apple snails , which in turn feed on the sawgrass. The sloughs' availability of fish, amphibians, and young birds attract a variety of freshwater turtles, alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ), water moccasin ( Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti ), and eastern diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus adamanteus ). Freshwater marl prairies are similar to sloughs but lack

2678-495: The Everglades were developed, proponents of the park's establishment faced difficulty in persuading the federal government and the people of Florida that the subtle and constantly shifting ecosystems in the Everglades were just as worthy of protection. When the park was established in 1947, it became the first area within the U.S. to protect flora and fauna native to a region as opposed to geologic scenery. The National Park Service recognizes nine distinct interdependent ecosystems within

2781-531: The Everglades. Some members of the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes continue to live within park boundaries. Management of the park includes approval of new policies and procedures by tribal representatives "in such a manner that they do not conflict with the park purpose". Following the end of the Seminole Wars , Americans began settling at isolated points along the coast in what is now the park, from

2884-694: The Everglades. Plans arose in 1882 to drain the wetlands and develop the land for agricultural and residential use. As the 20th century progressed, water flow from Lake Okeechobee was increasingly controlled and diverted to enable explosive growth of the Miami metropolitan area . The park was established in 1934, to protect the quickly vanishing Everglades, and dedicated in 1947, as major canal-building projects were initiated across South Florida. The ecosystems in Everglades National Park have suffered significantly from human activity, and restoration of

2987-414: The Everglades. With a high tolerance of salt water, winds, extreme tides, high temperatures, and muddy soils, mangrove trees are uniquely adapted to extreme conditions. They act as nurseries for many marine and bird species. They are also Florida's first defense against the destructive forces of hurricanes, absorbing flood waters and preventing coastal erosion . The mangrove system in Everglades National Park

3090-463: The Everglades: peat, created by many years of decomposing plant matter, and marl , the result of dried periphyton , or chunks of algae and microorganisms that create a grayish mud. Portions of the Everglades that remain flooded for more than nine months out of the year are usually covered by peat. Areas that are flooded for six months or less are covered by marl. Plant communities are determined by

3193-608: The National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current national parks had been previously protected as national monuments by the president under the Antiquities Act or as other designations created by Congress before being redesignated by Congress;

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3296-507: The National Park Service reports there were probably about 20,000 natives living in or near the Everglades when the Spanish established contact in the late 16th century. The Calusa lived in social strata and were able to create canals , earthworks , and shellworks . The Calusa were also able to resist Spanish attempts at conquest. The Spanish had contact with these societies and established missions further north, near Lake Okeechobee . In

3399-665: The National Park System are considered equal with the same mission, national parks are generally larger and more of a destination, and hunting and extractive activities are prohibited. National monuments , on the other hand, are also frequently protected for their historical or archaeological significance. Eight national parks (including six in Alaska ) are paired with a national preserve , areas with different levels of protection that are administered together but considered separate units and whose areas are not included in

3502-664: The Royal Palm Visitor Center, the Anhinga Trail is a half-mile self-guided tour through a sawgrass marsh where visitors can see alligators, marsh and wading birds, turtles, and bromeliads. Its proximity to Homestead and its accessibility makes it one of the most visited sites in the park. The nearby Gumbo Limbo Trail is also self-guided, at half-mile long. It loops through a canopy of hardwood hammocks that include gumbo limbo ( Bursera simaruba ), royal palms ( Roystonea ), strangler figs ( Ficus aurea ), and

3605-722: The Tamiami Trail (part of U.S. Route 41 ) directly west of Miami is the Shark Valley Visitor Center . A fifteen-mile (24 km) round trip path leads from this center to a two-story observation tower. Tram tours are available during the busy season. Closest to Homestead on State Road 9336 is the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center , where a 38-mile (61 km) road begins, winding through pine rockland, cypress, freshwater marl prairie, coastal prairie, and mangrove ecosystems. Various hiking trails are accessible from

3708-573: The Ten Thousand Islands. Both settlements and the more isolated homesteads could only be reached by boat until well into the 20th century. Everglades City , on the mainland near Chokoloskee, enjoyed a brief period of prosperity when, beginning in 1920, it served as the headquarters for the construction of the Tamiami Trail . A dirt road from Florida City reached Flamingo in 1922, while a causeway finally connected Chokoloskee to

3811-465: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, established an agricultural area directly south of Lake Okeechobee, and three water conservation areas, all bordered by canals that diverted excess water either to urban areas or into the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico or Florida Bay. South of these manmade regions was Everglades National Park, which had been effectively cut off from its water supply. By the 1960s,

3914-512: The Wilderness Waterway, Gulf Coast sites, and sites in the various keys. Several back-country sites are chickees ; others are beach and ground sites. Low-powered motorboats are allowed in the park; the majority of salt water areas are no-wake zones to protect manatees and other marine animals from harm. Jet skis , airboats, and other motorized personal watercraft are prohibited. Many trails allow kayaks and canoes. A state license

4017-511: The act, "Through this legislation that river of grass may now be restored to its natural flow of water". In 2000, Congress approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a federal effort to restore the Everglades with the objectives of "restoration, preservation and protection of the south Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region", and claiming to be

4120-443: The aquifer and the permeability of the material. The water table does not always mimic the topography due to variations in the underlying geological structure (e.g., folded, faulted, fractured bedrock). A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water table. This occurs when there is an impermeable layer of rock or sediment ( aquiclude ) or relatively impermeable layer ( aquitard ) above

4223-652: The area become a national park in 1923. Five years later, the Florida state legislature established the Tropical Everglades National Park Commission to study the formation of a protected area. The commission was led by Ernest F. Coe , a land developer turned conservationist, who was eventually nicknamed Father of Everglades National Park. Coe's original plan for the park included more than 2,000,000 acres (3,125.0 sq mi; 8,093.7 km) including Key Largo and Big Cypress , and his unwillingness to compromise almost prevented

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4326-1066: The area bloom about 16 weeks after a fire. Nearly all pinelands have an understory of palm shrubs and a diverse ground covering of wild herbs. Pine rocklands are considered one of the most threatened habitats in Florida; less than 4,000 acres (6.3 sq mi; 16.2 km) of pineland exist outside the park. Within the park, 20,000 acres (31.3 sq mi; 80.9 km) of pineland are protected. A variety of animal species meet their needs for food, shelter, nesting, and rooking in pine rocklands. Woodpeckers, eastern meadowlarks ( Sturnella magna ), loggerhead shrikes ( Lanius ludovicianus ), grackles , and northern mockingbirds ( Mimus polyglottos ) are commonly found in pinelands. Black bears and Florida panthers also live in this habitat. Cypress trees are conifers that are adapted to live in standing fresh water. They grow in compact structures called cypress domes and in long strands over limestone. Water levels may fluctuate dramatically around cypress domes and strands, so cypresses develop "knees" that protrude from

4429-868: The birds frequenting park shorelines. The bay also has its own resident population of bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ). The bay's many basins are broken up by sandbanks that serve as plentiful recreational fishing grounds for snook ( Centropomus undecimalis ), redfish ( Sciaenops ocellatus ), spotted seatrout ( Cynoscion nebulosus) , tarpon ( Megaflops atlanticus), bonefish ( Albula vulpes) , and permit ( Trichinous falcatus) , as well as snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and bass . Wading birds such as roseate spoonbills ( Platalea ajaja ), reddish egrets ( Egretta rufescens ), and great white herons ( Ardea herodias occidentalis ) have unique subpopulations that are largely restricted to Florida Bay. Other bird species include bald eagles , cormorants , and ospreys . Mammals along

4532-508: The busier season only. Camping is available year-round in Everglades National Park. Camping with some services is available at Long Pine Key, close to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, where 108 sites are accessible by car. Near Flamingo, 234 campsites with some services are also available. Recreational vehicle camping is available at these sites, but not with all necessary services. Back-country permits are required for campsites along

4635-418: The capillary effect ( capillary fringe ) in soils , sediments and other porous media . In the aquifer, groundwater flows from points of higher pressure to points of lower pressure, and the direction of groundwater flow typically has both a horizontal and a vertical component. The slope of the water table is known as the “hydraulic gradient”, which depends on the rate at which water is added to and removed from

4738-489: The coastlines of South Florida, sometimes growing inland depending on the amount of salt water present within the Everglades ecosystems. During drier years when less fresh water flows to the coast, mangroves will appear among fresh water plants. When rain is abundant, sawgrass and other fresh water plants may be found closer to the coast. Three species of mangrove trees—red ( Rhizophora mangle ), black ( Avicennia germinans ), and white ( Laguncularia racemosa )—can be found in

4841-444: The coasts were taken down for better views and replaced with shallow-rooted palm trees. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on larger canals to control the rising waters in the Everglades. Nevertheless, Lake Okeechobee continued to rise and fall, the region was covered with rain, and city planners continued to battle the water. The 1926 Miami Hurricane caused Lake Okeechobee levees to fail; hundreds of people south of

4944-517: The creation of the new national park on May 30, 1934, but the Act (HR 2837), which permanently reserved lands donated by public or private donation as wilderness, passed only with a rider that ensured no money would be allotted to the project for at least five years. Coe's passion and U.S. Senator Spessard Holland 's politicking helped to fully establish the park, after Holland was able to negotiate 1,300,000 acres (2,031.2 sq mi; 5,260.9 km) of

5047-463: The crop suffers a yield decline. A water table close to the surface affects excavation, drainage, foundations, wells and leach fields (in areas without municipal water and sanitation), and more. When excavation occurs near enough to the water table to reach its capillary action, groundwater must be removed during construction. This is conspicuous in Berlin , which is built on sandy, marshy ground, and

5150-449: The endangered green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ), hawksbill turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata ), and West Indian manatee ( Trichechus manatus ). Coastal lowlands, or wet prairies, are salt water marshes that absorb marine water when it gets high or fresh water when rains are heavy. Floods occur during hurricane and tropical storm surges when ocean water can rise several feet over the land. Heavy wet seasons also cause floods when rain from

5253-552: The figures below. The 431 units of the National Park System can be broadly referred to as national parks, but most have other formal designations. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone , was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later merged into National Capital Parks ), Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created

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5356-667: The fresh water supply for the region. Water also flows into the park after falling as rain to the north onto the watersheds of the Kissimmee River and other sources of Lake Okeechobee, to appear in the Everglades days later. Water overflows Lake Okeechobee into a river 40 to 70 miles (64 to 113 km) wide, which moves almost imperceptibly. At the turn of the 20th century, common concepts of what should be protected in national parks invariably included formidable geologic features like mountains, geysers, or canyons. As Florida's population began to grow significantly and urban areas near

5459-405: The freshwater sloughs also inhabit marl prairies. Marl prairies may go dry in some parts of the year; alligators play a vital role in maintaining life in remote parts of the Everglades by burrowing in the mud during the dry season, creating pools of water where fish and amphibians survive from one year to the next. Alligator holes also attract other animals who congregate to feed on smaller prey. When

5562-497: The lake drowned. Two years later, the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane claimed 2,500 lives when Lake Okeechobee once again surged over its levees. Politicians who declared the Everglades uninhabitable were silenced when a four-story wall, the Herbert Hoover Dike , was built around Lake Okeechobee. This wall effectively cut off the water source from the Everglades. Following the wall's construction, South Florida endured

5665-754: The largest environmental restoration in history. It was a controversial plan; detractors worried that it "relies on uncertain technologies, overlooks water quality, subsidizes damaging growth and delays its environmental benefits". Supporters of the plan included the National Audubon Society , who were accused by Friends of the Everglades and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation of prioritizing agricultural and business interests. CERP projects are designed to capture 1.7 billion US gallons (6,400,000 m) of fresh water every day, store it in underground reservoirs, and release

5768-566: The limestone called ooids , which created permeable conditions that hold water. The Florida peninsula appeared above sea level between 100,000 and 150,000 years ago. As sea levels rose at the end of the Wisconsin ice age , the water table appeared closer to land. Lake Okeechobee began to flood, and convection thunderstorms were created. Vast peat deposits south of Lake Okeechobee indicate that regular flooding had occurred about 5,000 years ago. Plants began to migrate, subtropical ones from

5871-435: The main water table/aquifer but below the land surface. If a perched aquifer's flow intersects the surface, at a valley wall, for example, the water is discharged as a spring . On low-lying oceanic islands with porous soil, freshwater tends to collect in lenticular pools on top of the denser seawater intruding from the sides of the islands. Such an island's freshwater lens, and thus the water table, rises and falls with

5974-495: The mainland's Everglades City in 1956. After the park was established, private property in the Flamingo area was claimed by eminent domain , and the site was incorporated into the park as a visitor center. Several attempts were made to drain and develop the Everglades in the 1880s. The first canals built in the Everglades did little harm to the ecosystem, as they were unable to drain much of it. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward based

6077-478: The majority of his 1904 campaign for governor on how drainage would create "The Empire of the Everglades". Broward ordered the drainage that took place between 1905 and 1910, and it was successful enough that land developers sold tracts for $ 30 per acre, settling the town of Davie , and developing regions in Lee and Dade counties. The canals also cleared water that made way for agricultural fields growing sugarcane . In

6180-426: The mangroves but "standing dead snags" several miles wide, but 30 years later the area had completely recovered. Predictably, what suffered the most in the park from the 2005 hurricanes were man-made structures. In 2009 the visitor center and lodge at Flamingo were irreparably damaged by 125 mph (201 km/h) winds and an 8 ft (2.4 m) storm surge ; the lodge had been functioning for 50 years when it

6283-594: The most-visited park since 1944, and had almost 13 million visitors in 2022. In contrast, only about 9,500 people visited the remote Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska in 2022. Download coordinates as: The following table includes the 30 states and two territories that have national parks. Exclusive parks refer to parks entirely within one state or territory. Shared parks refer to parks in multiple states. Territories are set in italics . Water table The water table

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6386-472: The newest national park is New River Gorge , previously a National River, and the most recent entirely new park is National Park of American Samoa . A few former national parks are no longer designated as such , or have been disbanded. Fourteen national parks are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS), and 21 national parks are named UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR), with eight national parks in both programs. Thirty states have national parks, as do

6489-443: The nicknames "Grand Dame of the Everglades", "Grandmother of the Everglades" and "the anti-Christ" for her singular focus at the expense of some political interests. She founded and served as president for an organization called Friends of the Everglades, initially intended to protest the construction of a proposed Big Cypress jetport in 1968. Successful in that confrontation, the organization has grown to over 4,000 members, committed to

6592-596: The north flows into the Everglades. Few trees can survive in the conditions of this region, but plants— succulents like saltwort and glasswort —tolerate salt, brackish water, and desert conditions. Animal life in this zone is dependent upon the amount of water present, but commonly found animals include Cape Sable seaside sparrow ( Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis ), Everglades snail kite ( Rostrhamus sociabilis ), wood stork ( Mycteria americana ), eastern indigo snake ( Drymarchon couperi ), and small mammals such as rats, mice, and rabbits. The largest body of water within

6695-481: The northern part of Florida, and tropicals carried as seeds by birds from islands in the Caribbean . The limestone shelf appears to be flat, but there are slight rises—called pinnacles—and depressions caused by the erosion of limestone by the acidic properties of the water. The amount of time throughout the year that water is present in a location in the Everglades determines the type of soil, of which there only two in

6798-572: The park is Florida Bay , which extends from the mangrove swamps of the mainland's southern tip to the Florida Keys . Over 800 square miles (2,100 km) of marine ecosystem lies in this range. Coral , sponges , and seagrasses serve as shelter and food for crustaceans and mollusks , which in turn are the primary food source for larger marine animals. Sharks, stingrays , and barracudas also live in this ecosystem. Pelicans, shorebirds , terns, and black skimmers ( Rynchops niger ) are among

6901-430: The park that constantly shift in size owing to the amount of water present and other environmental factors. Freshwater sloughs are perhaps the most common ecosystem associated with Everglades National Park. These drainage channels are characterized by low-lying areas covered in fresh water, flowing at an almost imperceptible 100 feet (30 m) per day. Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough are significant features of

7004-402: The park was visibly suffering. The C&SF was directed to provide enough water to sustain the park; it did not follow through. A proposed airport that would have dire environmental effects on Everglades National Park became the center of a battle that helped to initiate the environmental movement into local and national politics. The airport proposal was eventually abandoned, and in 1972 a bill

7107-476: The park's creation. Various other interests, including land developers and sport hunters, demanded that the size of the park be decreased. The commission was also tasked with proposing a method to raise the money to purchase the land. The search coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression in the United States, and money for land purchase was scarce. The U.S. House of Representatives authorized

7210-662: The park, closed the park to airboats , directed the Department of the Army to restore water to improve the ecosystems within Everglades National Park, and "Direct(ed) the Secretary of the Interior to manage the Park in order to maintain the natural abundance, diversity, and ecological integrity of native plants and animals, as well as the behavior of native animals, as part of their ecosystem." Bush remarked in his statement when signing

7313-541: The park, including the Florida panther , the American crocodile , and the West Indian manatee , along with 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish, 40 species of mammals, and 50 species of reptiles. The majority of South Florida 's fresh water, which is stored in the Biscayne Aquifer , is recharged in the park. Humans have lived for thousands of years in or around

7416-714: The park, leaving out Big Cypress, Key Largo, the Turner River area , and a 22,000-acre (34.4 sq mi; 89.0 km) tract of land called "The Hole in the Donut" that was too highly valued for agriculture. Miami Herald editor John Pennekamp was instrumental in pushing the Florida Legislature to raise $ 2 million to purchase the private land inside the park boundaries. It was dedicated by President Harry Truman on December 6, 1947, one month after Marjory Stoneman Douglas's book The Everglades: River of Grass

7519-508: The park, was declared a wilderness area . It was renamed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness in 1997. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on October 24, 1979, and as a Wetland of International Importance on June 4, 1987. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 1993 until 2007 and then again in 2010. The park was added again due to the continued degradation of

7622-446: The park. Sawgrass growing to a height of 6 feet (1.8 m) or more, and broad-leafed marsh plants, are so prominent in this region that they gave the Everglades its nickname "River of Grass" , cemented in the public imagination in the title for Marjory Stoneman Douglas 's book (1947), which culminated years of her advocacy for considering the Everglades ecosystem as more than a "swamp". Excellent feeding locations for birds, sloughs in

7725-475: The preservation of the Everglades. She wrote and spoke about the importance of the Everglades until her death at age 108 in 1998. Floridians hoping to preserve at least part of the Everglades began to express their concern over diminishing resources in the early 20th century. Royal Palm State Park was created in 1916 and protected Paradise Key; it included several trails and a visitor center several miles from Homestead . Miami-based naturalists first proposed that

7828-430: The purchase of 207,000 acres (323.4 sq mi; 837.7 km) of land at a cost of $ 1 billion. The plan aims to spend $ 10.5 billion over 30 years, combining 50 different projects and giving them 5-year timelines. Everglades National Park was directly hit by Hurricanes Katrina , Wilma , and Rita in 2005. Such storms are a natural part of the park's ecosystem; 1960's Hurricane Donna left nothing in

7931-506: The rare, critically endangered Florida panther ( Puma concolor couguar ). Miami-Dade County was once covered in 186,000 acres (290.6 sq mi; 752.7 km) of pine rockland forests, but most of it was harvested by the lumber industry. Pineland ecosystems (or pine rocklands) are characterized by shallow, dry sandy loam over a limestone substrate covered almost exclusively by slash pines ( Pinus elliottii var. densa ). Trees in this ecosystem grow in solution holes , where

8034-719: The region floods again during the wet season, the fish and amphibians which were sustained in the alligator holes then repopulate freshwater marl prairies. Hammocks are often the only dry land within the park. They rise several inches above the grass-covered river and are dominated by diverse plant life consisting of subtropical and tropical trees, such as large southern live oaks ( Quercus virginiana ). Trees often form canopies under which animals thrive amongst scrub bushes of wild coffee ( Psychotria ), white indigoberry ( Randia aculeata ), poisonwood ( Metopium toxiferum ) and saw palmetto ( Serenoa repens ). The park features thousands of these tree islands amid sloughs—which often form

8137-438: The region were made of shell, bone, wood, and animal teeth; shark teeth were used as cutting blades, and sharpened reeds became arrows and spears. Shell mounds still exist today within the park, giving archaeologists and anthropologists evidence of the raw materials available to the indigenous people for tool construction. Spanish explorers estimated the number of Tequesta at first contact to be around 800, and Calusa at 2,000;

8240-640: The road, which runs to the Flamingo Visitor Center and marina, open and staffed during the busier time of the year. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center is closest to Everglades City on State Road 29 along the west coast. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center gives canoers access to the Wilderness Waterway , a 99-mile (160 km) canoe trail that extends to the Flamingo Visitor Center. The former Royal Palm State Park

8343-522: The same time Creeks , escaped African slaves, and other Indians from northern Florida displaced by the Creek War , formed the area's Seminole nation. After the end of the Seminole Wars in 1842, the Seminoles faced relocation to Indian territory near Oklahoma . A few hundred Seminole hunters and scouts settled within what is today Big Cypress National Preserve , to escape the forced emigration to

8446-551: The set causing significant indications of eutrophication (for example algal blooms) negatively impacting the marine life causing the US government to request UNESCO and IUCN for assistance in development. President George H. W. Bush signed the Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act on December 13, 1989, that added 109,506 acres (171.1 sq mi; 443.2 km) to the eastern side of

8549-400: The shape of a teardrop when seen from above (see park map) because of the slowly moving water around them—but they can also be found in pineland and mangroves. Trees in the Everglades, including wild tamarind ( Lysiloma latisiliquum ) and gumbo-limbo ( Bursera simaruba ), rarely grow higher than 50 feet (15 m) because of wind, fire, and climate. The plant growth around the hammock base

8652-530: The shoreline include raccoons , opossums , bobcats , and fox squirrels . Humans likely first inhabited the South Florida region 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. Two tribes of Native Americans developed on the peninsula's southern tip: the Tequesta lived on the eastern side and the Calusa , greater in numbers, on the western side. The Everglades served as a natural boundary between them. The Tequesta lived in

8755-412: The slow movement of surface water; instead, water seeps through a calcitic mud called marl . Algae and other microscopic organisms form periphyton , which attaches to limestone. When it dries it turns into a gray mud. Sawgrass and other water plants grow shorter in freshwater marl than they do in peat , the other type of soil in the Everglades which is found where water remains present longer throughout

8858-652: The soft limestone has worn away and filled with soil, allowing plants to take hold. Pinelands require regular maintenance by fire to ensure their existence. South Florida slash pines are uniquely adapted to promote fire by dropping a large amount of dried pine needles and shedding dry bark. Pine cones require heat from fires to open, allowing seeds to disperse and take hold. The trunks and roots of slash pines are resistant to fire. Prescribed burns in these areas take place every three to seven years; without regular fires, hardwood trees begin to grow in this region, and pinelands become recategorized as mixed swamp forests. Most plants in

8961-497: The soil, passing through the unsaturated zone. At increasing depths, water fills in more of the pore spaces in the soils, until a zone of saturation is reached. Below the water table, in the phreatic zone (zone of saturation), layers of permeable rock that yield groundwater are called aquifers . In less permeable soils, such as tight bedrock formations and historic lakebed deposits, the water table may be more difficult to define. “Water table” and “ water level ” are not synonymous. If

9064-479: The tides. In some regions, for example, Great Britain or California , winter precipitation is often higher than summer precipitation and so the groundwater storage is not fully recharged in summer. Consequently, the water table is lower during the summer. This disparity between the level of the winter and summer water table is known as the "zone of intermittent saturation", wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions. Fossil water

9167-464: The type of soil and the amount of water present. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Royal Palm at Everglades National Park has a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ). Summers are long, hot, and very wet and winters are warm and dry. While they are common in the northern portion of Florida , no underground springs feed water into the Everglades system. An underground reservoir called

9270-761: The water at high levels to provide oxygen for the root systems. Dwarf cypress trees grow in drier areas with poorer soil. Epiphytes , such as bromeliads , Spanish moss ( Tillandsia usneoides ), orchids and ferns grow on the branches and trunks of cypress trees. Everglades National Park features twenty-five species of orchids. Tall cypress trees provide excellent nesting areas for birds including wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ), ibis, herons, egrets, anhingas ( Anhinga anhinga ), and belted kingfisher ( Megaceryle alcyon ). Mammals in cypress regions include white-tailed deer, squirrels, raccoons , opossums , skunks, swamp rabbits, river otters ( Lontra canadensis ), and bobcats , as well as small rodents. Mangrove trees cover

9373-409: The water table typically slopes toward rivers that act to drain the groundwater away and release the pressure in the aquifer. Springs , rivers , lakes and oases occur when the water table reaches the surface. Groundwater entering rivers and lakes accounts for the base-flow water levels in water bodies. Within an aquifer, the water table is rarely horizontal, but reflects the surface relief due to

9476-413: The water to areas within 16 counties in South Florida. Approximately 35,600 acres (55.6 sq mi; 144.1 km) of man-made wetlands are to be constructed to confine contaminated water before it is released to the Everglades, and 240 miles (390 km) of canals that divert water away from the Everglades are to be destroyed. During the first five years of implementation, CERP was responsible for

9579-434: The west. Some survivors of the "Spanish Indians" were sent to Indian Territory with the Seminoles. From 1859 to about 1930, the Seminoles and Miccosukee lived in relative isolation, making their living by trading. In 1928, surveying and construction began on the Tamiami Trail , along the northern border of Everglades National Park. The road bisected the Everglades, introducing a steady, if small, traffic of white settlers into

9682-410: The year. Marl prairies are usually under water from three to seven months of the year, whereas sloughs may remain submerged for longer than nine months and sometimes remain under water from one year to the next. Sawgrass may dominate sloughs, creating a monoculture . Other grasses, such as muhly grass ( Muhlenbergia sericea ) and broad-leafed water plants can be found in marl prairies. Animals living in

9785-517: The years to the park or incorporated into other protected areas: Biscayne National Park , Big Cypress National Preserve , John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary were all protected after the park's opening in 1947. Everglades National Park was designated an International Biosphere Reserve on October 26, 1976. On November 10, 1978, 1,296,500 acres (2,025.8 sq mi; 5,246.7 km), about 86% of

9888-684: Was also its longest-serving. After Superintendent Beard, Warren F. Hamilton served between 1958 and 1963, followed by Stanley C. Joseph (1963-1966), Roger W. Allin (1966-1968), John C. Raftery (1968-1970), Joseph Brown (1970-1971), Jack E. Stark (1971-1976), John M. Good (1976-1980), John M. Morehead (1980-1986), Marueen E. Finnerty (Acting Superintendent, 1986), Michael V. Finley (1986-1989), Robert L. Arnberger (Acting Superintendent, 1989), Robert S. Chandler (1989-1992), Dick Ring (1992-2000), Marueen E. Finnerty (2000-2003), Dan Kimball (2004-2014), Shawn Benge (Acting Superintendent, 2014), Bob Krumenaker (Acting Superintendent, 2014-2015), and finally Pedro Ramos, who

9991-620: Was appointed in 2015 and continues to serve. The park was placed into Administrative Region I in 1937, when the regions were first established. Region I was retitled the Southeast Region in 1962, which was restructured into the Southeast Area in 1995. The reorganized unified Interior regions put it in the new Region 2. The busiest season for visitors is from December to March, when temperatures are lowest and mosquitoes are least active. The park features five visitor centers: on

10094-552: Was introduced to curb development in South Florida and ensure the national park would receive the amount of water it needed. Efforts turned to repairing the damage wrought by decades of mismanagement: the Army Corps of Engineers changed its focus in 1990 from constructing dams and canals to constructing "purely environmental projects". Regions originally included in Ernest Coe's vision for a national park were slowly added over

10197-426: Was released. The same year, several tropical storms struck South Florida, prompting the construction of 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canals, sending water unwanted by farmers and residents to the ocean. The Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project (C&SF) was authorized by Congress to construct more than one thousand miles of canals and flood control structures across South Florida. The C&SF, run by

10300-472: Was seeping into the Biscayne Aquifer, South Florida's water source. In the 1940s, Marjory Stoneman Douglas , a freelance writer and former reporter for The Miami Herald , began to research the Everglades for an assignment about the Miami River . She studied the land and water for five years and published The Everglades: River of Grass in 1947, describing the area in great detail, including

10403-573: Was the first created to protect a fragile ecosystem . The Everglades are a network of wetlands and forests fed by a river flowing 0.25 miles (0.40 km) per day out of Lake Okeechobee , southwest into Florida Bay . The park is the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America and contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. Thirty-six threatened or protected species inhabit

10506-573: Was the site of the first Everglades National Park visitor center and later became the Royal Palm Visitor Center within the park. The western coast of the park and the Ten Thousand Islands and the various key islands in Florida Bay are accessible only by boat. Several walking trails in the park vary in hiking difficulty on Pine Island, where visitors can cross hardwood hammocks, pinelands, and freshwater sloughs. Starting at

10609-461: Was torn down; nothing is slated to replace it. Everglades National Park reported in 2005 a budget of over $ 28 million. Of that, $ 14.8 million was granted from the National Park Service and $ 13.5 million from various sources including CERP, donations, and other grants. The entry fee for private vehicles in 2021 is $ 30. Of the nearly one million visitors to Everglades National Park in 2006, more than 38,000 were overnight campers, paying $ 16

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