Everglades National Park

The Everglades is a national park in the United States, located in the Everglades Swamp area on an area of 6105 ^km2. The area was declared a national park back in 1934, but it actually became one only in 1947. In 1976, the UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve appeared here. Today, almost 90% of the area is a "wilderness area".

The park is surrounded by the agricultural territories of Miami, Florida City, Homestead and the Gulf of Mexico on the east side, the Big Cypress Nature Reserve on the north, and the Florida Straits on the south. In the southeast of the park, you can find the Ernest F. Information Center. However, six kilometers to the west there is another center - Royal Palm.

Everglades National Park is also called the "grassy river" because there are tropical swamps all around. More than two thousand varieties of plants grow in the swamps. There are 25 varieties of orchids growing here, and there are also ecosystems such as freshwater marshes, mangrove forests, pine woodlands, prairies, cypress forests, and subtropical hammock.

Smooth-billed cuckoos, short-tailed buzzards, Caribbean flamingos, shepherd cranes, herons, ibises, and storks are common in the Everglades. Of the predatory birds, it is worth noting kites, red-shouldered buzzards, ospreys. Sandpipers, pelicans, and terns can often be found in the Florida Gulf Coast. The wildlife of the park is no less rich, which is represented by river otters, Mississippi alligators, sharp-winged crocodiles, deer, and cougars. Over 36 representatives of the animal world are on the verge of extinction. This place is unique in that alligators and crocodiles live peacefully here.

Everglades Park is very popular with tourists, with about a million visitors a year. Trails have been set up in the park for the convenience of guests, and you can also explore the park from the water by renting a canoe. The best time to relax is December-March, as it is not very hot at this time, and there are few mosquitoes.