Environment of Florida
Caverns at Florida Caverns State Park
The state of Florida possesses a rich and di-
verse array of land and marine life and a mild
subtropical climate. These assets have drawn
millions of people to settle in the once rural
state over the last hundred years; Florida’s
population increases by about 1,000 resid-
ents each day.[1] Land development and wa-
ter use have transformed the state, primarily
through drainage and infill of the wetlands
that once covered most of the peninsula.
Much of Florida consists of karst lime-
stone veined with water-filled caves and sink-
holes,[2] which provide homes to many spe-
cies of aquatic life, some unique to particular
Florida locations.[3] As urban and suburban
development have increased over the last
decades, demand for groundwater has also
risen, resulting in damage and drying out of
portions of the cave system. This has led to
ground subsidence as dry caves collapse,
threatening property as well as ecosys-
tems.[4]
Restoration of the Everglades has long
been recognized as an environmental priority
in the state. In 2000, Congress passed the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan,
a $7.8 billion, 30-year project aimed at pre-
servation and restoration of the region and
its unique combination of environments.[5]
History
Population growth and
development
See also: Draining and development of the
Everglades
Ortona Lock and Dam, a part of the Army
Corps of Engineers project to control water
flow in the Everglades.
The Everglades ecoregion, highlighted in a
satellite photograph
The 1900 United States Census identified
only four cities in the state of Florida with
more than 5,000 inhabitants: Jacksonville,
Pensacola, Key West, and Tampa.[6] The total
population of the state was recorded as
528,542.[7] The southern third of the state
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Environment of Florida
1
was sparsely populated, and much of it was
partially submerged marshlands. A few at-
tempts at diverting the flow of water from
Lake Okeechobee to the land to the s