<P> The Everglades ( or Pa - hay - okee ) is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida , comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin and part of the neotropic ecozone . The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River , which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee . Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow - moving river 60 miles ( 97 km ) wide and over 100 miles ( 160 km ) long , flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state . The Everglades experience a wide range of weather patterns , from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season . Writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas popularized the term `` River of Grass '' to describe the sawgrass marshes , part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps , the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands , tropical hardwood hammocks , pine rockland , and the marine environment of Florida Bay . </P>
<P> The Everglades ( or Pa - hay - okee ) is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida , comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin and part of the neotropic ecozone . The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River , which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee . Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow - moving river 60 miles ( 97 km ) wide and over 100 miles ( 160 km ) long , flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state . The Everglades experience a wide range of weather patterns , from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season . Writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas popularized the term `` River of Grass '' to describe the sawgrass marshes , part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps , the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands , tropical hardwood hammocks , pine rockland , and the marine environment of Florida Bay . </P>
which part of the earth system includes the water in the everglades
which part of the earth system includes the water in the everglades
tropical wetlands
tropical wetlands