Below you’ll find a skimmable, accurate, and up-to-date collection of facts grouped by theme (ecology, wildlife, history, restoration, and visitor tips). This guide reflects current authoritative sources and the main points covered by pages that rank today, while keeping the tone friendly and useful for travelers.
Everglades at a Glance (Quick Facts)
- Where it is: Southern Florida, flowing from the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee south toward Florida Bay. Wikipedia
- Why it matters: The Everglades provides drinking water for more than 7 million people in South Florida. U.S. Geological Survey
- Size: Everglades National Park protects ~1.5 million acres; the greater ecosystem is larger. National Park Service
- Unique globally: It’s the only place on Earth where American alligators and American crocodiles coexist in the wild. USGS
- Biodiversity: Home to 350+ bird species and 36 threatened or endangered species including the Florida panther and West Indian manatee. National Park Service
- Special designations: UNESCO World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve, and Ramsar Wetland of International Importance; the park is also the largest wilderness in the eastern U.S. and the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Established: The national park was designated in 1947—the first U.S. national park established primarily for its biodiversity. National Park Service
Map of the Florida Everglades
The green area of the map of the Everglades shows the extent of runoff of three rivers from central Florida.
Any and all of these lands are affected by what we call the Florida Everglades. The underlying water moves at a pace of one-half mile per hour.
The significance of the aquifer surrounding these wetlands cannot be underestimated. The water gives life to the plants, trees, and wildlife for 100 miles south.
Hydrology & “River of Grass” Facts
- The Everglades is not a swamp—it’s a slow-moving river that once spread ~100 miles long and ~60 miles wide in a very shallow sheetflow toward Florida Bay.
- Early measurements show sheetflow moving roughly tens of meters per day (about 34 m/day on average), emphasizing just how gently this river moves.
- The Everglades’ elevation changes by only a few feet; the slight southward slope is what drives the sheetflow.
- Water levels and habitats follow two main seasons: a wet season (May–Nov) and a dry season (Dec–Mar) that concentrates wildlife along sloughs and ponds.
- Alligator holes act as life-saving refuges during droughts, concentrating fish and providing nesting habitat—alligators are a keystone species here.
- The Everglades recharges the Biscayne Aquifer, the region’s primary drinking-water source.
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