Before construction of the southern Florida regional water management system, water moved freely across the central Everglades, through more than 90 miles of sawgrass, wet prairies and open water sloughs. The area of the central Everglades is that area bordered on the north by Lake Okeechobee, on the west by the Big Cypress Swamp, on the east by the coastal ridge and on the south by the headwaters of the Shark River Slough. The central Everglades were composed primarily of sawgrass marsh; however, there was much diversity in the region because of the wet prairies, sloughs and tree islands that were interspersed throughout the system. Today any wetlands that remain of the central Everglades are contained within the Water Conservation Areas. Due to the water management practices of the state, these wetlands have been significantly altered from their natural state.

[Hydrology][Next: Taylor Slough]