The Florida Everglades is a vast subtropical wetland ecosystem in southern Florida, covering approximately 1.5 to 2 million acres, characterized by a slow-moving "river of grass" flowing from Lake Okeechobee southward through sawgrass marshes, cypress swamps, pineland forests, mangrove estuaries, and ultimately into Florida Bay. This unique hydrological system supports an extraordinary diversity of habitats and species making it one of the largest and most biologically rich wetlands in the United States. The Everglades' intricate water flow over limestone bedrock creates nutrient-poor conditions that have fostered specialized flora and fauna.
