| Become a Member | Add us to Your Favorites |
|
|
|
        |
| E-Mail Us |
|
IMAGES
From
Nostalgiaville |
NOTE: A Click of your Mouse on most of the pictures will enlarge them for better viewing
|
|
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, FLORIDA |
|
| ERNEST F COE VISITOR CENTER |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
  |
 |
 |
 |
| Occasionally a crocodile is sighted near Coot Bay Pond. Shy, far less common than alligators, nearly all of the few remaining American crocodiles live in the northeastern corner of Florida Bay. Though similar to the gator in size and appearance, the crocodile a narrower snout, lighter color, and a different array of protruding teeth. The alligator prefers fresh water, the crocodile a salt environment, but their habitats sometimes overlap in the brackish mangrove zone. |
| PINE LAND |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Fire has always shaped the everglades. In the beginning, fires burned unchecked. Yet the everglades thrived and became one of the richest biological areas on earth. After people arrived, fire sometimes developed a new and terrifying personality. Until recent years all fires were considered "bad" and were suppressed, a practice that allowed unnatural buildup of fuel and set the stage for holocausts which might not have happened if earlier fires had been allowed to burn. An irrigation and drainage system controlling overland flow of water through the glades has lead to longer and deeper droughts. Fires now occur more often and burn more fiercely. Even the rich, organic soil dries out and smolders, destroying a resource that took thousands of years to create. |
|
|
HURRICANE ANDREW'S IMPACT ON THE
PINELANDS Hurricane Andrew left many pines snapped or blown over, but many survived, saved by their ability to bend. The pine forest is temporarily changed with many of the larger trees gone, but smaller trees will soon grow to dominate, and seedlings will rise to fill the understory. These pines are South Florida slash pine, a native species adapte3d to a hurricane-prone climate. |
|
| LONG PINE KEY |
 |
 |
| DWARF CYPRESS FOREST |
 |
 |
 |
| PA - HAY - OKEE |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ROCK REEF PASS |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ROYAL PALM |
|
|
ROYAL PALM The Royal Palm area... the original heart of the park... is a good place to explore in all seasons. The Anhinga Trail boardwalk winds through Taylor Slough, a wildlife viewing area which offers one of the best close-up looks at wildlife in Everglades National Park. The Gumbo Limbo Trail provides an intimate glimpse of a subtropical hardwood hammock. |
| Poised between land and sea, costal mangrove swamps are the crossroads of the everglades. Their waters are a mixture... neither wholly fresh nor salt. In this brackish zone mangroves form dense, almost impenetrable forests. In September, 1960, hurricane Donna's 180 mph winds and twelve foot storm tides lashed the everglades for thirty-six hours. Afterwards, large portions of mangrove forest appeared destroyed. In some areas over half the forest was killed. But hurricanes are natural in the everglades, and new growth is slowly healing Donna's scars. |
| Hurricanes can affect this area in subtle ways. Hurricane winds and storm tides carry salty mud from Florida Bay to West Lake. In 1960 mud several inches deep deposited here by Hurricane Donna killed many of the mangroves. Mud deposition increases the elevation and the amount of salt in the soil... two factors that dictate which plants will grow here. |
|
|
|
Along the southern coastline of Florida only plants tolerant of salt can prosper. Here the four different species of mangroves are the only highly salt-tolerant trees. Buttonwood and white mangrove trees grow in places high enough that tides cannot reach them and where rain water leaches out most of the salt from the soil. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| MAHOGANY HAMMOCK |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
MAHOGANY HAMMOCK TRAIL This boardwalk bridges the sawgrass river and enters a lush tree island... a tropical hammock. Hidden from historic logging activities, old growth mahogany trees have grown to record size on the hammock's higher, drier ground. The boardwalk's back section rises through the hammock from dense undergrowth up toward the tree canopy where owls and air plants thrive. |
|
|
MAHOGANY TREE Trees of such great stature have many irreplaceable roles in the forest community. They support in abundance of plants and animals, act as windbreaks, and help prevent soil erosion. However, the importance of older-growth trees is often overlooked, as in the case of mahogany trees, which are extensively logged in tropical regions throughout the world for their high quality wood. |
|
| FLAMINGO VISITOR CENTER |
| FLAMINGO At the end of the park road, Flamingo is the gateway to Florida Bay. The bay and its adjoining maze of mangrove waterways provide homes for thousands of birds and a wealth of fish, crabs, shrimp, and other marine life. Facilities, products, and services at Flamingo include a lodge, restaurant, campground, groceries, fuel, a marina, hiking and canoe trails, and scenic boat tours. Ask at the Flamingo Visitor Center for information about activities. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
  |
| BEGINNING PAGE | STATES HOME PAGE |
|
| Become a Member | Add us to Your Favorites | E-Mail Us |
