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The Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem spanning two million acres across central and south Florida. During the wet season, Lake Okeechobee overflows, releasing water into a very slow moving, shallow river dominated by sawgrass marsh—dubbed the "river of grass."
The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee.
The Everglades is a subtropical marsh region up to 50 miles (80 km) wide but less than 1 foot (0.3 meter) deep. The Everglades occupies a shallow limestone-floored basin and much of it is covered with saw grass, which grows to a height of 4 to 10 feet (1.2 to 3 meters).
Everglades National Park is known for its great animal biodiversity, including endemic species, meaning species not found anywhere else. Animal species in the park range include a large number of federally endangered, threatened, and invasive species.
The mosaic of habitats found within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem supports an assemblage of plant and animal species found nowhere else on the planet. While nine distinct habitats have been identified, the landscape remains dynamic.
Friends of the Everglades advocates on behalf of one of the most climate-vulnerable ecosystems in Florida and across the globe. We are on the front lines of advocacy to address climate impacts. Learn More >
The Everglades is both a vast watershed that has historically extended from Lake Okeechobee 100 miles (160 km) south to Florida Bay (around one-third of the southern Florida peninsula), and many interconnected ecosystems within a geographic boundary.
America's Everglades - The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Everglades National Park protects an unparalleled landscape that provides important habitat for numerous rare and endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile, and the elusive Florida panther.
Everglades National Park in southern Florida helps to protect the sub-tropical “River of Grass” known as the Everglades. The first national park designated to protect an ecological system (1947), the Everglades has also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance.
Home to endangered Florida panthers, the only large cats remaining in the eastern United States, as well as pink Roseate Spoonbills and both alligators and crocodiles, the Everglades provides critical habitat for wildlife but also clean water and flood protection for nearby communities.