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Last updated: June 09, 2003
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What do we know about pre-drainage conditions in the
1800's? (Part 1)
Poster presented May 1999, at the South Florida Restoration Science Forum
Poster presented by:
Dr. Christopher McVoy, SFWMD
Is much known about
the Everglades of the 1800s?
Yes, a great deal.
| A perhaps surprising
answer, given that South Florida was still a frontier at that time, and
given how extensively it was later altered by drainage. |
| Recent research
has answered the following questions, many with high confidence: |
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Where?
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What?
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How?
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| Where was the boundary of the Everglades?
Where did the five main landscapes
occur? |
What did the landscapes look like?
What plants? What soils?
What did the whole basin look like? |
How deep was the water?
Was it the same everywhere?
How did it change from dry to wet season? |
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Why?
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When?
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| Why does it look different now?
Why did fire affect the system differently
before drainage?
Some whys we donít know... |
When during the year did many explorations
into the Everglades occur?
When did drainage begin affecting different
parts of the Everglades? |
(Click on the images below for a
larger version.)
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Bureau Topographical
Engineers (1848)
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Pre-drainage
Landscapes (this research)
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Vegetation
- Harshberger (1913)
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Next: How do we know so much?
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