The Florida peninsula is a diverse collection of islands, marshes, springs, swamps and hundreds of small lakes, rivers and ponds.
The land is divided into four main regions; the
Gulf Coast/Atlantic Ocean coastal plains, the
upland (
hilly area) of the north and northwest, the swampy
Everglades of the far south, and the
Florida Keys.
The coastal plains generally consist of flat land, fronted by barrier islands, sandy beaches, coral reefs and sandbars. The low rolling-hills of the uplands area stretch across the
Florida Panhandle. Here, the state's highest point,
Britton Hill, rises to 345 ft.
The swampy Everglades (
averaging about 8 ft. above sea level) is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. This protected area is dissected by countless bays, channels and small lakes, and includes thousands of tiny islands. It is officially designated as an
International Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Site, and a
Wetland of International Significance.
The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1,700 islands, extending southwest from the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, on to the uninhabited
Dry Tortugas in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Its largest inland body of water is
Lake Okeechobee, a very shallow (
only 20 foot deep) lake that drains into the Florida Everglades. Significant rivers include the
Apalachicola, Caloosahatchee, Indian, Kissimmee, St Johns and Suwannee.
For a look at the mostly flat topography of Florida, view this
topographic map.
