Or you can take an
airboat ride through the sawgrass prairies and mud flats of the
"River of Grass".
Or you can take an
airboat ride through the sawgrass prairies and mud flats of the
"River of Grass".
Coastal wetlands stretch inland from estuaries and beaches. In
temperate climates, they're salt marshes and grassy fresh marsh
and tidal flats. In tropical areas, they include swampy forests
of mangroves. Draining, dredging, and filling wetlands, as well
as rising sea level, are destroying coastal wetlands worldwide.
From the northern pinewood forests to the rolling vegetable fields
of the central part of the state and the southern citrus groves,
Florida is the producer of a large quantity of vegetables and
fruit. Fishing and shellfishing are a major industry that teems
within the Atlantic and Gulf waters surrounding the state.
The foregoing is a glimpse of Florida as it is today but does not
touch upon the fact that Florida is an area of delicately balanced
ecosystems that have seen abuse over the years. The number of
endangered species of plants and and animals grows almost daily.
The Everglades has become a "cesspool" of contaminants from
overuse of the adjacent land for farming. The wetlands through-
out the state suffer from the encroachment of modern construction
and pollutant runoff. The once pristine water of the Florida
aquifer is being tainted and the levels of water reduced to
dwindling amounts. Many see Florida as a paradise that will
continue forever while others realize a major turnaround must
take place to attempt to put things as right as possible so the
generations to come may enjoy Florida as have the generations
past.
Kick n' Back |Navy Links | Misc. Links | Civil War Links | Personal Info
Earliest Origins of Florida
Site© 1996-2004