Water Importance
What would the Everglades be without water? If the Everglades had no water, would it be full of unique plants and animals? Of course not! That is why it is so important to save the water we have now. Guess who controls the Everglades' survival: you, me, and all of the people in the United States.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Everglades, The River of Grass?" The reason Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, the author of Everglades-River Of Grass, called it the river of grass is because it really is a river of grass.
Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River are two main sources that provide water to The Everglades. The Everglades "river" begins at the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee, is approximately 50 miles wide, averages 6 inches deep, moves at a snail's pace southward, and finally ends it's approximate 100 mile long journey at the southern tip of Florida at Florida Bay. This "river" flows over a sloping bedrock of peat-covered limestone that is actually the water filter for South Florida's drinking water.
The Everglades' unique ecosystem with it's one of a kind flora and fauna, can only survive by having South Florida's cycle of wet (summer) and dry (winter) seasons. This is what gives the Everglades its life force.
As you can see, it is so important to save our Everglades. So come along and learn with us and save our Everglades now!
South Florida's surface water distribution
For further information about any watershed in North America, visit the link below:
Remember, YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
