Big Cypress National Preserve
| Big Cypress National Preserve | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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 USA
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| Location | Collier, Monroe, & Miami-Dade counties, Florida, United States |
| Nearest city | Everglades City, Florida |
| Coordinates | 25°51′32″N 81°02′02″W / 25.85889°N 81.03389°WCoordinates: 25°51′32″N 81°02′02″W / 25.85889°N 81.03389°W |
| Area | 720,566 acres (2,916.03 km2) |
| Established | October 4, 1974 |
| Visitors | 941,393 (in 2011) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Big Cypress National Preserve |
Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in southern Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami. The 720,000-acre (2,900 km2) Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, became the first national preserves in the United States National Park System when they were established on 11 October 1974. In 2008, Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus featured this preserve in a PBS documentary.
Big Cypress borders the wet freshwater prairies of Everglades National Park to the south, and other state and federally protected cypress country in the west, with water from the Big Cypress flowing south and west into the coastal Ten Thousand Islands region of Everglades National Park. When Everglades National Park was established in 1947, Big Cypress was originally intended to be included; however, because the land had not been purchased from its private owners, Big Cypress was ultimately released from the park system.
Big Cypress has a tropical savannah climate (Aw). Days are some of the hottest in Florida. January has an average high of 78.4 and August has an average high of 94.0 while Miami only averages 76.1 and 90.7. However, nights cool down into the 50s in winter. Means range from 66.5 in January to 84.7 in August. Highs exceed 90 on 159 days per year, while they fall below 70 on just 10. Hardiness zone is 10A, with an average annual minimum of 34. The lowest recorded maximum was 48 in 2010, while the highest minimum on record was 89 in 2005.
Ecologically, the preserve is slightly more elevated than the western Everglades. Big Cypress was historically occupied by various cultures of Native Americans; the last were the Seminole of the nineteenth century. Their descendants include the federally recognized Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
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Wikipedia