Spanning the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay, the Florida Everglades is a subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It contains both temperate and tropical plant communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. Within this, Everglades National Park preserves the southern portion of the Everglades and is the only subtropical preserve in North America, but represents only 20 percent of the original wetland area. The Park covers 1.5 million acres (6,000km²) and is a World Heritage Site.
The park is known for its rich bird life, particularly large wading birds, such as the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron and a variety of egrets. It is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The only highway access is the State Road 9336, running 38 miles (61km) from Florida City to the coast at Flamingo. Excluding the main visitor center and some smaller park facilities, there is no development in the park.
Although much modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of the Kissimmee River system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a very large, shallow fresh water lake. Water leaving Lake Okeechobee in the wet season forms the Everglades, an annual shallow, slow-moving flood at one time 40 miles wide and over 100 miles long moving southward across a nearly flat, limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state.
Everglades National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.
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Spanning the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay, the Florida Everglades is a subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It contains both temperate and tropical plant communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. Within this, Everglades National Park preserves the southern portion of the Everglades and is the only subtropical preserve in North America, but represents only 20 percent of the original wetland area. The Park covers 1.5 million acres (6,000km²) and is a World Heritage Site. 
The park is known for its rich bird life, particularly large wading birds, such as the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron and a variety of egrets. It is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The only highway access is the State Road 9336, running 38 miles (61km) from Florida City to the coast at Flamingo. Excluding the main visitor center and some smaller park facilities, there is no development in the park. 
Although much modified by agricultural development in central and southern Florida, the Everglades is the southern half of the Kissimmee River system. The Kissimmee flows from Taylor Creek, Nubbin Slough, and Fisheating Creek, and discharges into Lake Okeechobee, a very large, shallow fresh water lake. Water leaving Lake Okeechobee in the wet season forms the Everglades, an annual shallow, slow-moving flood at one time 40 miles wide and over 100 miles long moving southward across a nearly flat, limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state.