In
the Big Cypress Swamp, water flows through long sloughs,
created by the erosion of the limestone bedrock that
underlies the swamp and the Everglades. The drainage
sloughs or channels contain layers of organic material on
which the cypress forests grow. The local term for this
type of long swamp area is "strand."
Although
this western part of the Big Cypress is not within the
federal preserve, it is reached by driving through the
preserve on State Route 29. The access road is reached
from either I-75 (north), or from the Tamiami Trail (U.S.
41), south of the preserve. If you're coming from U.S.
41, drive to the junction at Carnestown. Drive north on
SR 29 for 2.3 miles, to the village of Copeland, and then
turn west (left) onto W.J. Janes Scenic Drive, the access
route through the state preserve. The preserve office and
information center is three miles along this road.
At
the end of the road is a startling view which serves to
illustrate the ironies inherent in trying to develop
swamp areas for human use. It's a stark picture of man's
inhumanity to Nature (more about this later).
If
traveling from the north, drive along I-75 and exit at
State Route 29, driving south past Deep Lake and Jerome,
to the state preserve road. Turn right and drive three
miles to the information center. This route offers the
benefits of touring Miles City Prairie (just south of
I-75) and Rock Island Prairie. The state route then
passes west of Deep Lake Strand, with prominent pineland
areas.
The
preserve contains a magnificent stand of royal palms,
located on the western boundary, near a series of
hardwood hammocks, about seven miles from the road. This
preserve is also a protected home of the Florida panther,
plus many of the species found in Big Cypress National
Preserve: hawks, woodpeckers, owls, raccoons, turtles,
and deer.
The
Scenic Drive ends at a canal, but you can explore old
paths that remain from earlier development days. Look
beyond the canal and you'll see just about the worst of
what man hath wrought, the ultimate in unbuilt townsites,
a suitable testimony to Florida developers and their
incessant efforts to drain the swamps and tame Nature by
building suburbs in the wilderness. For economic and
other reasons, the huge tract of canals and roads has not
been fully developed, and lies there as a monument to
futility.
To
continue our tour of Southwest Florida attractions
click on the hand, or go to the individual
chapters.
Fakahatchee
Strand
