SWAMP BUGGY TRACKS IN BIG CYPRESS SWAMP - NARA - 544508

Florida swamps include a variety of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

habitats. Because of its high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

, substantial rainfall, and often flat geography, the U.S. state of

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 ...

has a proliferation of swamp areas, some of them unique to the state. Swamp types in Florida include: * Cypress dome - most common swamp habitat in Florida *

Strand swamp A strand swamp or strand is a type of swamp in Florida that forms a linear drainage channel on flatlands. A forested wetland ecological habitat, strands occur on land areas with high water tables where the lack of slope prevents stream formation. S ...

Floodplain swamp A floodplain swamp is a swamp habitat in Florida. They occur in areas of flooding and inundation along streams and rivers. They have a lot in common with strand swamps, found further south where lack of slope prevents stream formation and host a var ...

* Titi swamp * Tupelo gum swamp * Mangrove swamp

Notable swamps

Green Swamp (Florida) The Green Swamp is a swamp in Florida. It lies west of Highway 27 and east of Interstate 75 in Polk, Lake, Sumter, Hernando and Pasco Counties. The headwaters of the Peace River, Withlacoochee River, Ocklawaha River, and Hillsborough River ar ...

(including the

Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve is a 110,000 acre preserve in the four-corner area of Lake County, Pasco County, Polk County and Sumter County, east of Dade City, Florida. It includes a 36-mile section of the Withlacoochee River and offers hikin ...

), Polk County *

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

* Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in southwest Florida north of

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

* Okefenokee Swamp, straddling the Georgia–Florida border *

Barley Barber Swamp The Barley Barber Swamp, once a vast Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress forest and waterway in the Greater Everglades watershed, is a parcel of land surrounded by Florida Power & Light's (FPL) Martin County, Florida, Martin County power plant. The ...

* Santa Fe Swamp

Animal species

Rare animals inhabiting swamps include: * the

Florida panther The Florida panther is a North American cougar (''P. c. couguar'') population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, and mixed freshwater swamp forests. It is known under a number of common names including Costa R ...

, an endangered subspecies of cougar ('' Puma concolor''). * the American alligator

Plant species

Some of the species found in the various types of swamps include: * Cypress ** bald cypress (''Taxodium distichum'') **

pond cypress ''Taxodium ascendens'', also known as pond cypress, is a deciduous conifer of the genus ''Taxodium'', native to North America. Many botanists treat it as a variety of bald cypress, ''Taxodium distichum'' (as ''T. distichum'' var. ''imbricatum'' ...

(''Taxodium ascendens'') * red mangrove (''Rhizophora mangle'') * Palms **

cabbage palm Cabbage palm is a common name for several species of palms or palm-like plants: *'' Cordyline fruticosa'', a tropical tree native to Asia and Polynesia *''Corypha utan'', an East Asian fan palm (including Northern Australia) *''Euterpe oleracea'', ...

(''Sabal palmetto'') ** Florida royal palm (''Roystonea regia'') * sawgrass (''Cladium jamaicense'') *

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...

(''Tillandsia usneoides'')

References

External links

{{Florida 01 Wetlands of Florida Natural history of Florida