Wet and Dry, Fire and Ice: Visiting Seven of America’s Natural Wonders VOICE TWO: Now we travel southeast to the state of Florida. We will visit the area once called “the liquid heart” of that state -- the Everglades. VOICE ONE: Hundreds of birds fly in a sunny blue sky. The only sounds are bird calls and the soft noise made by tall grasses as the water slowly moves them. Hidden in the grasses, dark green alligators move at the edge of the water, like part of the Earth come alive. This is the Everglades -- a low, watery, partly coastal area that covers ten thousand square kilometers. The area is filled with sawgrass. This plant grows in sharp, thin pieces that are three to ten meters tall. The Everglades is sometimes called “river of grass.” The area also contains forests of palm, cypress, mangrove and pine. And beautiful plants and sweet-smelling flowers grow in the Everglades. These include several kinds of the highly prized and rare flower, the orchid.Animal species are plentiful. Many colorful birds and butterflies live here. So do snakes, foxes, frogs and even big cats, called Florida panthers. But, the Everglades alligators and crocodiles are probably the animals most identified with the Everglades. No other place in the world is home to both.
Wet and Dry, Fire and Ice: Visiting Seven of America’s Natural Wonders VOICE TWO: Now we travel southeast to the state of Florida. We will visit the area once called “the liquid heart” of that state -- the Everglades. VOICE ONE: Hundreds of birds fly in a sunny blue sky. The only sounds are bird calls and the soft noise made by tall grasses as the water slowly moves them. Hidden in the grasses, dark green alligators move at the edge of the water, like part of the Earth come alive. This is the Everglades -- a low, watery, partly coastal area that covers ten thousand square kilometers. The area is filled with sawgrass. This plant grows in sharp, thin pieces that are three to ten meters tall. The Everglades is sometimes called “river of grass.” The area also contains forests of palm, cypress, mangrove and pine. And beautiful plants and sweet-smelling flowers grow in the Everglades. These include several kinds of the highly prized and rare flower, the orchid.Animal species are plentiful. Many colorful birds and butterflies live here. So do snakes, foxes, frogs and even big cats, called Florida panthers. But, the Everglades alligators and crocodiles are probably the animals most identified with the Everglades. No other place in the world is home to both.