Everglades National Park: 'The Liquid Heart of Florida'

Everglades National Park: 'The Liquid Heart of Florida'

Today on our national parks journey, we explore the Everglades in South Florida.

When many people think of Florida, images of sandy coasts, theme parks and rocket launches come to mind. But it is also home to a natural wilderness¹ different from any other in the United States.

Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. Several rare and endangered species live in the park. It is a huge place, covering more than 600,000 hectares of wetlands.

It is also a popular park. More than 1 million visitors pass through the official entrances every year. But, others enter the park on water and go uncounted.

Irreplaceable nature

In 1947, President Harry² Truman spoke³ at the official opening of Everglades National Park. He said the goal of creating the park was to protect forever a wild area that could never be replaced.

The Everglades is considered one of the biological wonders of the world. It is a place where plants and animals from the Caribbean Sea share an ecosystem⁴ with native North American species.

Nine different environments exist within the Everglades. They include mangrove⁵ and cypress⁶ swamps, estuaries⁷ and coastal⁸ marshes¹⁰.

River of grass

In the 1940s, reporter and environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote a book called, “The Everglades: River of Grass.” She described the area as, “the liquid heart of Florida.”

Everglades National Park was created to protect an ecosystem from damage. The Everglades is home to about 30 species that federal officials say are threatened or endangered. They include the Florida panther, the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee¹¹.

More than 350 bird species and 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish live within the park. The Everglades is also home to 40 species of mammals and 50 reptile¹² species.

Unique flora¹³

Visitors to the Everglades will see many exotic plants. They include what is said to be the largest growth of mangrove trees in the Western world. Gumbo-limbo trees, known for their peeling red skin, strangler figs¹⁴ and royal palms are also among the area’s plant life. The country’s largest living mahogany tree also lives in the Everglades.

Sawgrass grows in some areas of the park. Be careful – sawgrass is very sharp, with teeth just like a saw. It can grow up to 4 meters tall.

With about one and one-half meters of rainfall each year, plants and trees never stop growing in the Everglades.

The dry, winter season is the favorite of most visitors, when insects like mosquitoes are less of a problem. The rainy season lasts from June to November.

Hiking, biking and boating

There are many ways to explore the Everglades. Visitors can see alligators¹⁵ while hiking the Anhinga Trail. The park is one of the only places in the world where freshwater alligators and saltwater crocodiles live in the same area.

Visitors using canoes are likely to observe large groups of wading¹⁶ birds like the wood stork¹⁷ or the great blue heron. Bright pink flamingos¹⁸ also thrive in the Everglades.

Some visitors might enjoy riding bicycles through Shark Valley. Others might want to take it more slowly. The boardwalk walking trail goes right over the slow-moving water. Visitors can take a close look at insects and other wildlife.

The park also offers tram rides for guided tours.

Dark history

The National Park Service says that early Colonial settlers and land developers believed the Everglades had little value. The settlers had plans to remove water from the area. In the 1880s, developers began digging canals to reduce water levels.

At the time, they did not understand the complexity¹⁹ of the Everglades’ ecosystem. As a result, they were not prepared for all the work. They caused environmental problems.

Larger efforts to drain the wetlands continued between 1905 and 1910. Farms were built on large pieces of land. More people began to move to the Everglades.

More changes came midcentury. The federal government built roads, canals and water-control systems throughout South Florida.

The project was aimed at providing water and flood protection for people and farms. Workers built a huge system of waterways and pumping stations to control the overflow²⁰ of Lake Okeechobee, north of the Everglades.

The Everglades today and tomorrow

In more recent years, environmental experts learned about the damage to the Everglades. Some experts say the balance of nature in the area has been destroyed.

Today, some of South Florida’s early wetland areas no longer exist. Populations of wading birds have been reduced by 90 percent. Whole populations of animals are in danger of disappearing.

In 2000, Congress approved a plan to restore and improve the Everglades. Federal, state and other organizations are partners in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

The future is not clear for the wild and beautiful Everglades. But, efforts are under way to protect this biological treasure. The hope is that people may continue to visit the extraordinary Everglades National Park long into the future.

Words in This Story

subtropical - adj. an area close to tropical parts of the world?

ecosystem -? n. everything that exists in a particular environment?

swamp -? n. land that is always wet and often partly covered with water?

estuary²¹ -? n. where a river flows into the sea?

marsh⁹ -? n. soft, wet land that has many grasses and other plants?

exotic -? adj. very different, strange, or unusual?

comprehensive -? n. including many, most, or all things?

restoration -? n. bringing back something that existed before?

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

6 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

7 estuaries   

（江河入海的）河口，河口湾( estuary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We also recognize the diversity and complexity of controlling in fluences in estuaries. 我们也认识到在河湾内控制影响的多样性和复杂性。
• Estuaries also contribute to economy through tourism and fishing. 河口还为人类提供了休闲和教育的场所。

8 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

9 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

10 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 manatee   

n.海牛

参考例句：

• We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我们看了海豚、海牛、海狮和鲸的表演。
• One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特别的生物之一要数亚马孙海牛。

12 reptile   

n.爬行动物；两栖动物

参考例句：

• The frog is not a true reptile.青蛙并非真正的爬行动物。
• So you should not be surprised to see someone keep a reptile as a pet.所以，你不必惊奇有人养了一只爬行动物作为宠物。

13 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

14 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

15 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

16 wading   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The man tucked up his trousers for wading. 那人卷起裤子，准备涉水。
• The children were wading in the sea. 孩子们在海水中走着。

17 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

18 flamingos   

n.红鹳，火烈鸟（羽毛粉红、长颈的大涉禽）( flamingo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Flamingos stand in a salt lake in Larnaca, Cyprus. 塞浦路斯的拉纳卡市一个盐湖中的火烈鸟。 来自互联网
• The research started researchers studied greater flamingos and in a bird sanctuary in southern Spain. 研究人员在西班牙南部的一个鸟类保护区对大型火烈鸟进行研究。 来自互联网

19 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

20 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

21 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。