Amazing Everglades

What comes to mind when someone mentions the Everglades down Florida way? Heat, wetlands, alligators, airboats, birds, sock a little poke sallet to me... Sure, those are some obvious traits, but there is a great deal more to this very large subtropical wilderness and national park.

Everglades National Park is an amazing ecosystem, but not just one uniform piece of real estate. There are several systems called sub-biomes. Different critters have been equipped by the Master Engineer to survive, adapt, and thrive there. The geological origin is also quite interesting.

Everglades, National Park Service / G. Gardner (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents)
Some of the photographs I've shared on my weblogs included flowers that I later learned were "invasive." They are called that because they're not native to an area and get obnoxious by taking over. They're built to survive. The stories of alligators in New York City sewers are mostly myth. Unfortunately, the Burmese python has been released into the Everglades and it is wreaking havoc in its happy invasion.

Proponents of deep-time geology tell us a story about Florida being a part of Africa at one time, but the North American continent kept it when the continental plates collided. The story goes on about some other things as well. Creationists agree with some of the story, but Genesis Flood geology from creation science adds an additional dimension.

The Everglades sits like a jewel, unique in the United States’ collection of varied landscapes. Each year, a million people come to experience one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. But few know that they are visiting more than just southern Florida. Deep under its surface, the Everglades is built on rock that was once part of Africa. This wet wonderland has gone through many iterations throughout earth’s history. In fact, the Everglades has been an ever-changing ecosystem since the biblical global flood cataclysm.

You can read the entire article (or listen to the audio version) and learn about the living things, Flood geology, and more by visiting "Everglades: An Ever-Changing Environment."