Everglades National Park is a large subtropical wilderness in Florida, covering 1,494,970 acres and home to diverse plants and wildlife. It was inhabited by Native American tribes before being settled by Europeans and eventually becoming a National Park. The park suffered from ecological problems but was repaired in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the only national park in the US established to restore wilderness to its pristine condition. Visitors can hike, view wildlife, and camp in the park.
Everglades National Park is the third largest federally protected ecosystem preserved in the continental United States. Located in the state of Florida, it accounts for a quarter of the entire Everglades region, a subtropical wilderness with diverse plants and wildlife. Visited by approximately one million people each year, the national park covers an area of 1,494,970 acres (6,049.9 sq km). Everglades National Park is also on the list of World Heritage Sites, regarded as one of the most important places in human history.
The Everglades have been inhabited for thousands of years. Early humans are believed to have settled in the region at least 12,000 years ago. The Native American tribes of the Tequesta and the Calusa made their homes in the eastern and western portions of the desert, respectively. According to archaeological evidence, the Tequesta were one large tribe living on the Miami River. The Calusa, on the other hand, were scattered in many different villages near the Kissimmee River, Caloosahatchee River, Lake Okeechobee, and the Gulf of Mexico.
In the 1700s, the Spanish conquest forced the Creeks into the region. A combination of European disease and warfare with the Creek essentially wiped out the native populations. The remnants merged with the Creek and escaped slaves to form the Seminole nation, eventually launching a major conflict with the United States that ended in 1842. The resettlement programs sent most of the Seminole population west, except for a few scattered groups. Over the next century, much of the area remained uninhabited until 1928, when construction of the Tamiami Trail, a 264-mile (443 km) highway, brought white Americans into the Everglades.
Plans to turn the area into a park began in earnest in the 1920s. During the height of the Great Depression, the US Congress made it a National Park with no funding. Slowly the park suffered from ecological problems caused by continuous development and lack of water. In the 1960s, a political push led the United States Army Corps of Engineers to build dams and repair the damage. In 1972, the environmental damage was finally assessed by the government and legislation was passed to repair Everglades National Park.
The Everglades has the distinction of being the only national park in the United States that was established to restore wilderness to its pristine condition rather than conservation. Today, visitors can take part in many national park activities such as hiking the trails and wildlife viewing. Everglades National Park also offers some of the greatest Florida camping access in the state, allowing people to enjoy the natural setting as it once was.
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