About a century ago, water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the Everglades marsh to the flats of Florida Bay. The Everglades once covered almost 11,000 square miles of South Florida. The Everglades and Chokoloskee community was just recovering from a hurricane in 1909 when it was devastated by another, the worst on record, the following year. Everglades National Park’s several visitor centres have natural history exhibits. Only the highest ground of the old Calusa shell mound remained above water. Just a century ago, water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the vast Everglades to Florida Bay, the ultimate destination of uninterrupted sheetflow. HISTORY OF THE EVERGLADES. Everglades Florida History. Cretaceous and Tertiary carbonate rocks of the Coastal Plain. The South Florida ecosystem (Figure D-1 and 2-1) stretches from north of Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Reef Tract, and includes parts of 16 counties (USACE and SFWMD, 1999).While part of the system lies on ancient limestones, the Everglades peatland formed only during the past 5,000 years as sea level rose from its Ice Age low to its present level (Gleason and Stone, 1994). Everglades National Park was created in 1947, with the goal of conserving the remaining natural landscape and preventing any more destruction of the land, plants or animals. Everglades National Park was established on December 6, 1947, and 70 years later, it remains an international treasure attracting visitors from around the world. Underneath the surface bedrock of the Everglades is a three-mile thick distribution of marine sedimentary rocks, mostly carbonates. Everglades History: America’s Everglades once covered almost 11,000 square miles of south Florida. Invasive Species in the Everglades (Part 1) The Florida Everglades is composed of thousands of native plants, animals, healthy bacteria, and other wildlife that work together to keep the environment thriving. Until 1983, Everglades City was known -- if at all -- as a bucolic fishing village 80 miles west of Miami on the edge of Everglades National Park. In many ways the history of the Everglades is the story of Southwest Florida. In addition, private companies offer guided tram and boat tours in portions of the park. The geologic formation of The Everglades National Park can most easily be chronicled in five steps which were originally organized in our class textbook. Test your knowledge with 10 facts about Everglades. For additional information, see our list of Everglades History Resources. The History of Everglades Restoration The following is a timeline of significant legislation, litigation, projects, and other milestones in Everglades restoration throughout the years. 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