Florida Everglades – River of GrassThe Florida everglades are a special hydrologic system that

Florida Everglades – River of GrassThe Florida everglades are a special hydrologic system that has likely been operating the way we see it today for the last 5000 years. Formerly called the river glades, the everglades is a shallow freshwater marsh located at the southern end of Florida. The vegetation is predominately a saw-grass (Cladium jamaicensis). Florida has a seasonally wet and dry climate, as two thirds of its rainfall occurs in the summer months. During the rainy season, the Kissimmee river feeds Lake Okeechobee until it spills over its southern shore. This overflow runs toward the Florida bay, as a shallow river (6-10 inches deep). The water flow stops in the dry season, and is repeated the following year. The few forested areas within the everglades are limited to small hills just a few feet above the water table that support tropical hardwoods. In the presence of frequent fire, the tropical hardwoods are out competed by slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa). Shallow “moats” surround the islands dominated by the tropical hardwoods mostly mahogany (Sweitenia mahogoni) as throughfall of acidic erosive chemicals from the leaves runs off the island, eating away at the limestone bedrock. -Greg AegisFurther reading“Geologic Settings and Hydrology Gradients in the Everglades” - Edwin A. Romanowicz, Curtis J. Richardsonhttp://www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/evergeology.htmPhoto CreditUniversity of Florida -- source link
Tumblr Blog : the-earth-story.com

More pics about