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Everglades National ParkView of Open Slough
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Everglades National Park
Ecosystems: Freshwater Slough
 
Aerial View of Taylor Slough

"Sloughs" are low-lying areas of land that serve to channel water through the Everglades. These marshy rivers are relatively deep and remain flooded almost year-round.  Though they are the main avenue of waterflow, the current remains leisurely, moving around 100 feet (30 meters) per day.  

Dotted with tree-islands, this vast landscape channels life-giving waters from Lake Okeechobee southward. Everglades National Park contains two distinct sloughs. On the west is the larger Shark River Slough, also known as the "River of Grass." The smaller, narrower Taylor Slough lies to the east of Shark River Slough. Both sloughs discharge into Florida Bay. A series of other sloughs that flow through the Big Cypress Swamp supply freshwater to western Florida Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands.

Aerial View of the Harney River
Other Everglades Ecosystems
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Butterfly Orchid in Bloom
Plants of the Everglades
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Did You Know?  

Did You Know?
Everglades National Park preserves one of the largest stands of pine rockland in the world. This globally imperiled ecosystem is also considered one of the most biologically diverse areas in South Florida.

Last Updated: October 05, 2009 at 13:03 EST