FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week, we tell about Everglades National Park in the American state of Florida.

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　　STEVE EMBER: When many people think of Florida, images of sandy coastlines or fun theme park rides come to mind. Yet about an hour south of Miami lies a natural wilderness different from anywhere else in the United States.

　　Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the country. The park is home to several rare and endangered species. It is also the third largest national park in the lower forty-eight states, after Death Valley and Yellowstone. Each year, more than one million people visit the Everglades.

　　Library of Congress

　　The Everglades at dusk

　　FAITH LAPIDUS: In nineteen forty-seven, President Harry Truman spoke at the official opening of Everglades National Park. He said the goal of creating the park was to protect forever a wild area that could never be replaced.

　　The Everglades is considered one of the great biological wonders of the world. The expansive wetlands stretch across more than six hundred thousand hectares. It is a place where plants and animals from the Caribbean Sea share an ecosystem with native North American species.

　　Nine different environments exist within the Everglades. They include mangrove and cypress swamps, estuaries and coastal marshes.

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　　STEVE EMBER: In the nineteen-forties, Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote a book called, "The Everglades: River of Grass." She described the area as, "the liquid heart of Florida."

　　nps.gov

　　A Florida Panther

　　Unlike most other national parks, Everglades National Park was created to protect an ecosystem from damage. The Everglades is home to about fifteen species that federal officials say are threatened and endangered. They include the Florida panther, the American crocodile and the West Indian manatee.

　　In addition, more than three hundred fifty bird species and three hundred species of fresh and saltwater fish live within the park. The Everglades is also home to forty species of mammals and fifty reptile species.

　　FAITH LAPIDUS: Visitors to the Everglades will see many exotic plants. They include what is said to be the largest growth of mangrove trees in the western world. Gumbo-limbo trees, known for their peeling red skin, strangler figs and royal palms are also among the area's plant life. The country's largest living mahogany tree also lives in the Everglades.

　　Sawgrass grows in some areas of the park. Be careful – sawgrass is very sharp, with teeth just like a saw. It can grow up to four meters tall.

　　With about one and one-half meters of rainfall each year, plants and trees never stop growing in the Everglades.

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　　STEVE EMBER: The dry, winter season is the favorite of most visitors, when insects like mosquitoes are less of a problem. The rainy season lasts from June to November. There are many ways to explore the Everglades. Visitors can see alligators while hiking the Anhinga Trail.