Destination Spotlight

Shark Valley

Located on the northern edge of Everglades National Park, Shark Valley lies in the heart of the “river of grass” that stretches over 100 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Take a tram ride through the park, where you may run into alligators, many varieties of birds, and possibly even see a white-tailed deer or two.

Did you know?

• An oil company once owned the Shark Valley land. They found oil, but couldn’t use it due to its high sulfur content. Recent techniques for separating the sulfur from the oil have sparked a new interest in drilling.
• The Shark Valley Visitor Center is one of five that welcome visitors to the Everglades.
• To show you how a few extra drops of water can affect the environment, take a small pool of water teeming with fish and snails. The snails feed on the bottom of the pool but surface to lay their eggs just above the water line. Raise that water line a few inches and you lose a whole generation of snails. Not to mention the problem this causes the already endangered bird, the snail kite, which feeds on the snails.

Links:

Shark Valley Tram Tours