The southern end of the Florida peninsula is covered with a vast area of welands known as the Everglades. They extend over an area approximately 120 miles (200 km.) wide east to west, and over 150 miles (250 km) from Lake Okeechobee in the north to the mangrove swamps at the southern tip. A large part of the Everglades are included in a national park known simply as "The Everglades" or in the Big Cypress Nationa Preserve. Other parts of this vast wetland area are owned by Native Americans, namely the Seminole and the Mikusuki Indian tribes.
Along the southern part of Florida, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach lie on the somewhat dry sandy eastern shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. Fort Myers, Coral Beach and Naples lie on the similar shoreline along the western Gulf of Mexico Coast. Everything in between these semi-dry-landed coasts is part of the Everglades.
There are two highways that cross the great wetlands of the Everglades connecting the eastern coastal cities with the cities on the Gulf side. Route 44, known as the old Tamiami Trail extends across the southern part of the Everglades from Miami to the Gulf where it veers northward to Naples. Much of this older highway is constructed on an earthen causeway that rises just a few meters above the wetlands with narrow drainage canals on either side. This highway skirts along the northern edge of the Everglades National Park, touches the Mikusukee Indian Reservation and crosses the Big Cypress National Preserve. There are ample opportunities to view the landscape, stop for and airboat ride or see alligators.
Route 75 known as "Alligator Alley" is a much newer interstate highway that crosses the northern Everglades between Fort Lauderdale and Naples. It is constructed on a much more substantial earthen causeway with a high-speed toll road that facilitates quicker driving. Near the halfway point, a local road takes you northward into the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. About 20 miles north of Alligator Alley, lies a commercial park known as Billy's Swamp Safari. It is maintained by the Seminole Tribe and offers some unique ways to experience the Everglades via airboat and swamp buggy..