Editing Everglades (section)

===Cypress===
[[File:Big cypress.jpg|thumb|A pond in The Big Cypress]]

Cypress swamps can be found throughout the Everglades, but the largest covers most of [[Collier County, Florida|Collier County]]. The Big Cypress Swamp is located to the west of the sawgrass prairies and sloughs, and it is commonly called "The Big Cypress".<ref name="George, p. 26">George, p.&nbsp;26.</ref> The name refers to its area rather than the height or diameter of the trees; at its most conservative estimate, the swamp measures {{convert|1200|sqmi|km2}}, but the [[Hydrography|hydrologic boundary]] of The Big Cypress can be calculated at over {{convert|2400|sqmi|km2}}.<ref>Lodge, p.&nbsp;67.</ref> Most of The Big Cypress sits atop a bedrock covered by a thinner layer of limestone. The limestone underneath the Big Cypress contains [[quartz]], which creates sandy soil that hosts a variety of vegetation different from what is found in other areas of the Everglades.<ref name="George, p. 26"/> The basin for The Big Cypress receives on average {{convert|55|in|cm}} of water in the wet season.<ref>Ripple, p.&nbsp;16.</ref>

Although The Big Cypress is the largest growth of cypress swamps in South Florida, cypress swamps can be found near the Atlantic Coastal Ridge and between Lake Okeechobee and the Eastern flatwoods, as well as in sawgrass marshes. Cypresses are deciduous [[conifer]]s that are uniquely adapted to thrive in flooded conditions, with buttressed trunks and root projections that protrude out of the water, called "knees".<ref>Jewell, p.&nbsp;43.</ref> [[Taxodium distichum|Bald cypress]] trees grow in formations with the tallest and thickest trunks in the center, rooted in the deepest peat. As the peat thins out, cypresses grow smaller and thinner, giving the small forest the appearance of a dome from the outside.<ref>Ripple, p.&nbsp;26.</ref> They also grow in strands, slightly elevated on a ridge of limestone bordered on either side by sloughs.<ref>Ripple, pp.&nbsp;31–32.</ref> Other hardwood trees can be found in cypress domes, such as [[red maple]], [[swamp bay]], and [[pop ash]]. If cypresses are removed, the hardwoods take over, and the ecosystem is recategorized as a mixed swamp forest.