These uninhabited islands stretch for 60-miles along the Gulf Coast. Surrounding the Ten Thousand Islands is an estuary, formed from where freshwaters from the land meet with saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico. Mangrove forests are very important in this marine environment. Mangrove leaves, trunks and branches fall into the water and are transformed into detritus, which is the basis of an elaborate food chain. Mangroves provide protected habitat, breeding grounds and nursery areas to many terrestrial and marine animals.
Mangroves also provide shoreline protection from wind, waves and floods.
Launch the boat from Everglades City and see some of the southern Ten Thousand Islands where the landscape is dominated by mangrove forests and water. A photo gallery is available for this page. A sign posted in bay waters welcomes visitors to Everglades National Park. Some of the southern Ten Thousand Islands fall within Everglades National Park boundaries. A beach along one of the Ten Thousand Islands.