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Big Cypress Swamp
The Big Cypress Swamp, situated in southwest Florida, is a flat swampy land, encompassing 771,000 acres (3120 sq. km.) west of Everglades. Over 720,000 acres (2900 sq. km.) of the Swamp is covered by the Big Cypress National Preserve. This Swamp is home to a unique montage of freshwater marshes, cypress swamp, forests of saw palmetto and slash pine, and wet prairies. It is, in fact, recognized for the abundance of the cypress trees rather than their size.
The Swamp can be distinguished from the Everglades based on its thinner soils of sand and marl, higher land elevations, and its forest vegetation. It is characterized by an abundance of small and stunted cypress trees. Moderate-sized cypress trees are found associated with the depressions in the bedrock, while the pine and hammock forests occur only at a level slightly higher than the cypress forestland. Fresh water from the swamp runs leisurely to the south and ultimately merges with the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico, thereby forming a vast estuarine wilderness of bays, oyster bars, channels, and mangrove keys referred to as the ‘Ten Thousand Islands’. Nearly 56% of the surface water that flows into the Everglades National Park is contributed by the Big Cypress Swamp and Preserve.
The Big Cypress Swamp is home to a number of different bird species and attracts millions of birders every year. The best birding is available in the western portion of this region, which is bordered by the Big Cypress Bend at Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve to the west, Turner River Road to the east, the outer islands bounding the Gulf of Mexico between West Pass and Rabbit Key Pass to the south, and I-75 to the north. The Swamp is also home to wide variety of wildlife. Also, certain communities of the Seminole Indians have reservations in this area.
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