25 Fun Facts About the Everglades: River of Grass

Facts about the Everglades highlight one of the most unique ecosystems in the world—a vast, slow-moving wetland in southern Florida often called the “River of Grass.”

Anchored by Everglades National Park but extending far beyond its borders, the Everglades supports extraordinary wildlife, protects South Florida’s freshwater supply, and plays a critical role in climate resilience and coastal protection.

Everglades Facts At-a-Glance

Location: Southern Florida, USA
Ecosystem Type: Subtropical wetlands (sawgrass marshes, mangroves, estuaries)
Established (National Park): December 6, 1947
Area/Size (National Park): ~1.5 million acres (≈610,000 hectares)
Historic Extent: ~3 million acres
UNESCO Status: World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve, Wetland of International Importance
Famous For: “River of Grass,” alligators and crocodiles, mangrove forests, wading birds
Annual Visitors (National Park): ~1 million
Best Time to Visit: December to April (dry season)

Geography and Physical Features

1. The Everglades is often called the “River of Grass” because it’s actually a slow-moving sheet of water flowing southward from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay at an incredibly gradual pace of just one foot per day, creating what appears to be an endless sea of sawgrass prairie.
2. Established as a national park in 1947, Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres, making it the third-largest national park in the contiguous United States and the largest tropical wilderness in the country.
3. The park’s diverse ecosystems include nine distinct habitats: hardwood hammocks, pine rocklands, coastal lowlands, freshwater sloughs, freshwater marl prairies, cypress swamps, mangrove forests, marine and estuarine areas, and Florida Bay.
4. Tree islands called “hammocks” dot the Everglades landscape, created over thousands of years as organic matter accumulated around slightly elevated areas, supporting tropical hardwood forests that provide crucial habitat for wildlife and served as camping spots for Native Americans.
5. The park contains one of the largest continuous mangrove ecosystems in North America, with three species of mangroves (red, black, and white) creating a crucial nursery habitat for countless marine species and serving as a natural barrier against hurricanes.
6. Shark Valley, despite its name, contains no sharks but offers a 15-mile loop road through the heart of the Everglades where visitors can observe alligators, birds, and other wildlife from bicycles or trams, with a 65-foot observation tower providing panoramic views.

Climate and Weather

7. The Everglades experiences two distinct seasons: a wet season (May through October) when about 70% of annual rainfall occurs, and a dry season (November through April) when water levels drop dramatically and wildlife concentrates around remaining water sources.
8. Everglades National Park has a subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild, drier winters. Temperatures can reach the upper 90s°F during summer and occasionally drop into the 30s°F during rare winter cold snaps, while seasonal heat, humidity, and heavy mosquito activity can make summer conditions challenging for visitors.
9. The park experiences an average of 60 inches of rainfall annually, but this varies dramatically from year to year, with drought years seeing as little as 30 inches and wet years receiving over 80 inches, creating boom-and-bust cycles that wildlife has adapted to over millennia.

Wildlife and Biodiversity

10. The Everglades is home to both the American alligator and the American crocodile, making it the only place on Earth where these two species coexist naturally in the wild, with crocodiles preferring the saltwater areas near Florida Bay.
11. This unique ecosystem supports over 350 bird species, including the iconic roseate spoonbill, great blue heron, and the endangered wood stork, making it one of the most important bird habitats in North America.
12. Florida panthers, the state’s official animal, number only around 120-230 individuals in the wild, with the vast majority living in the Everglades region, making them one of the most endangered large mammals in the United States.
13. The park’s waters support over 300 species of fish, including tarpon, snook, redfish, and the prehistoric-looking Florida gar, making it a world-renowned destination for both freshwater and saltwater fishing enthusiasts.
14. The Everglades serves as a crucial stopover point for millions of migratory birds traveling along the Atlantic Flyway, with some species like the white ibis gathering in flocks of thousands during the dry season when fish become concentrated in shrinking pools.
15. Everglades National Park is home to about 40 species of mammals, including the West Indian manatee, river otter, bobcat, white-tailed deer, and a rare South Florida mink population adapted to wetland habitats.

Suggested Read: 10 Interesting Facts About Wetlands

Environmental Threats and Invasive Species

16. Everglades National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, recognizing its global significance, but it was also placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1993 due to environmental threats from pollution, invasive species, and altered water flow.
17. Invasive Burmese pythons have become a major ecological threat in the Everglades, with tens of thousands of these massive snakes now living in the park after being released by pet owners, devastating native wildlife populations including mammals and birds. [Learn more: 40 Fascinating Facts About Snakes: Slithering Wonders]
18. The Everglades was originally twice its current size before human development began draining and diverting water for agriculture and urban development, with approximately 50% of the original wetlands lost since the early 1900s.

History and Native Peoples

19. The Miccosukee and Seminole tribes have called the Everglades home for centuries, with the Seminole Wars (1817-1858) largely fought in these wetlands as Native Americans used the challenging terrain to resist U.S. military forces seeking to relocate them.
20. Calusa and Tequesta peoples lived in the Everglades region for over 1,000 years before European contact, building sophisticated societies adapted to the wetland environment, with archaeological evidence including shell mounds and canoe remains still visible today.

Conservation and Restoration

21. Marjory Stoneman Douglas, often called the “Grandmother of the Everglades,” wrote the influential book “The Everglades: River of Grass” in 1947 and spent decades fighting to protect this ecosystem, living to be 108 years old and remaining an environmental activist until her death in 1998.
22. The $16.4 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), authorized by Congress in 2000, represents the world’s largest ecosystem restoration project, aiming to restore natural water flow patterns and improve water quality over a 30-year period.
23. The Everglades plays a critical role in South Florida’s water supply, with the ecosystem naturally filtering and storing freshwater that eventually supplies drinking water to over 8 million people, while also serving as a natural buffer against storm surge and hurricanes that regularly threaten the region.

Tourism and Recreation

24. Everglades National Park generates approximately $1.1 billion annually for the local economy and supports about 10,000 jobs in South Florida through tourism, research, and park operations.
25. The Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park is one of the most popular wildlife viewing areas in the United States, offering visitors the chance to see alligators, turtles, fish, and the park’s namesake anhinga birds (also called “snakebirds”) from an elevated boardwalk.

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