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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 mashy 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: Shark River Slough, the "River of Grass," and Taylor Slough, a narrow, eastern tributary of the former. There are no surface connections between the two. A series of other sloughs 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?
Though there are likely thousands of alligators in the Everglades, they remain protected because of their close resemblance to the far more endangered American crocodile. Can you identify which this one is?

Last Updated: July 30, 2007 at 10:09 EST