Dr. Howard A. Kelly Park, often called ''Kelly Park'', is a protected area which is owned by

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It lies about 17 miles (27 kilometers) northwest of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. It shares some of its boundaries with Wekiwa Springs State Park and

Rock Springs Run State Reserve Rock Springs Run State Reserve is a Florida State Parks, State Park in the U.S. state of Florida. The main entrance is located about north of Orlando in Sorrento, Florida, Sorrento, west of the Wekiva River bridge on State Road 46 (Florida), S ...

. The Rock Springs Run, a 10-mile (16 km)-long tributary of the Wekiva River, has its source near the northern boundary of Kelly Park. Much of the park is shaded by temperate-zone trees such as

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...

, American sweetgum, several species of hickory and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, and one of the southernmost natural populations of

tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

. Many subtropical plants are also present with

cabbage palmetto ''Sabal palmetto'' (, '' SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the So ...

prominent among them. The forests are supported by poorly drained soils which have developed from marine sands and clays. The topsoils are usually dark gray or black fine sands which are acidic (slightly so in some cases). The gray or brownish gray subsoils range in texture from sand to sandy clay, and are less acid than the topsoils. Some are moderately alkaline with free calcium carbonate. The park's largest animals are

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

and possibly

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

. Many species of smaller animals also occur.

References

Orange County website for Kelly Park
{{coord, 28.761, -81.503, type:landmark_region:US-FL, display=title Parks in Orange County, Florida

See also

References