"A river of grass flowing imperceptibly from the hinterland into the sea", Everglades is a large tropical wetlands in the southern portion of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The national park with the same name protects the southern 20% of the area, and it has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, being one of only three locations in the world which appear on all three lists. It has fresh and brackish water, and the shallow bays and the deeper coastal waters creates a complex of habitats supporting a high diversity of flora and fauna. It contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie and the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America. The complex biological processes range from basic algal associations through progressively higher species and ultimately to primary predators such as the alligator, crocodile, and Florida panther; the food chain being superbly evident and unbroken.
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