Blue Rhino Media

Bahamasair Nassau San Salvador (Bahamas) I-195 / SR 112 With the rise of sea levels that occurred during the Pleistocene approximately 17,000 years ago the runoff of water from Lake Okeechobee slowed and created the vast marshland that is now known as the Everglades Slower runoff also created an accumulation of almost 18 feet (5.5 m) of peat in the area the presence of such peat deposits dated to about 5,000 years ago is evidence that widespread flooding had occurred by then. Population 6.1.1 Calusa and Tequesta Fire is an important element in the natural maintenance of the Everglades the majority of fires are caused by lightning strikes from thunderstorms during the wet season Their effects are largely superficial and serve to foster specific plant growth: sawgrass will burn above water but the roots are preserved underneath Fire in the sawgrass marshes serves to keep out larger bushes and trees and releases nutrients from decaying plant matter more efficiently than decomposition Whereas in the wet season dead plant matter and the tips of grasses and trees are burned in the dry season the fire may be fed by organic peat and burn deeply destroying root systems Fires are confined by existing water and rainfall it takes approximately 225 years for one foot (.30 m) of peat to develop but in some locations the peat is less dense than it should be for the 5,000 years of the Everglades' existence Scientists indicate fire as the cause; it is also cited as the reason for the black color of Everglades muck Layers of charcoal have been detected in the peat in portions of the Everglades that indicate the region endured severe fires for years at a time although this trend seems to have abated since the last occurrence in 940 BCE.

Miami-Dade County has over 200,000 students enrolled in local colleges and universities placing it seventh in the nation in per capita university enrollment in 2010 the city's four largest colleges and universities (MDC FIU UM and Barry) graduated 28,000 students. . The Florida Legislature comprises the Florida Senate which has 40 members and the Florida House of Representatives which has 120 members the current governor of Florida is Ron DeSantis the Florida Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and six justices, Gold Coast Following the demise of the Calusa and Tequesta Native Americans in southern Florida were referred to as "Spanish Indians" in the 1740s probably due to their friendlier relations with Spain the Creek invaded the Florida peninsula; they conquered and assimilated what was left of pre-Columbian societies into the Creek Confederacy They were joined by remnant Indian groups and formed the Seminole a new tribe by ethnogenesis the Seminole originally settled in the northern portion of the territory in addition free blacks and fugitive slaves made their way to Florida where Spain had promised slaves freedom and arms if they converted to Catholicism and pledged loyalty to Spain These African Americans gradually created communities near those of the Seminole and became known as the Black Seminoles the groups acted as allies.