<P> Most national parks preserve unique geographic features; Everglades National Park was the first created to protect a fragile ecosystem . The Everglades are a network of wetlands and forests fed by a river flowing . 25 miles (0.40 km) per day out of Lake Okeechobee, southwest into Florida Bay . The Park is the most significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds in North America and contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere . It is home to 36 threatened or protected species including the Florida panther, the American crocodile, and the West Indian manatee, and supports 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish, 40 species of mammals, and 50 species of reptiles . The majority of South Florida's fresh water, which is stored in the Biscayne Aquifer, is recharged in the park . </P> <P> Humans have lived for thousands of years in or around the Everglades . Plans arose in 1882 to drain the wetlands and develop the land for agricultural and residential use . As the 20th century progressed, water flow from Lake Okeechobee was increasingly controlled and diverted to enable explosive growth of the South Florida metropolitan area . The park was established in 1934, to protect the quickly vanishing Everglades, and dedicated in 1947, as major canal building projects were initiated across South Florida . The ecosystems in Everglades National Park have suffered significantly from human activity, and restoration of the Everglades is a politically charged issue in South Florida . </P> <P> Everglades National Park covers 1,509,000 acres (6,110 km), throughout Dade, Monroe, and Collier counties in Florida . The elevation typically ranges from 0 to 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level, but a Calusa - built shell mound on the Gulf Coast rises 20 feet (6.1 m) above sea level . </P> <P> The terrain of South Florida is relatively and consistently flat . The limestone that underlies the Everglades is integral to the diverse ecosystems within the park . Florida was once part of the African portion of the supercontinent Gondwana . After it separated, conditions allowed a shallow marine environment to deposit calcium carbonate in sand, shells, and coral to be converted into limestone . Tiny bits of shell, sand, and bryozoans compressed over multiple layers forming structures in the limestone called ooids, which created permeable conditions that hold water . </P>

Where is the everglades national park located in florida