Florida Naturally.com

The Coastal Lowlands are the most recent surfaced landmasses and they make up the flat lands that are known as south Florida. The Highlands of north and west Florida are geologically much older than the Coastal Lowlands and they reach their highest point at about 325 feet above sea level. The ridges of the Panhandle are the last remains of the Appalachian Mountains.

Proceeding southward, there are many terraces and ledges that were left on the landscape with the recession of the ancient seas. Along the more than 1,200 miles of coastline there are sandy beaches, saltwater marshes, saltwater swamps, and even rocky shoreline. The most commonly encountered plant community in Florida is longleaf-slash pine forest or pine flatwoods. These are usually large tracts of high, well-drained, fairly level land dominated by pines.

Hardwood hammocks are groups of hardwood trees and shrubs that are usually clustered around creeks, streams, or wet spots in the pine forests. Swamp forests are more densely wooded areas that may contain cypress and large hardwoods; they often border rivers and streams. Cypress swamps are also found along riverbanks but may occur as “strands” in low wet areas.

Dry prairies are wide plains lacking trees, like those in the Lake Okeechobee area, while wet prairies are freshwater marshes. Salt marshes are found near beaches and bays as are mangrove swamps.

Beaches are the shores of the ocean, the gulf, or of bays. Along the southern rim of the state, mangrove swamp, swamp forest, and coastal saltwater marsh are most often encountered.

The Everglades primarily consist of freshwater marsh with wet and dry prairies, but pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks are also seen there. In central Florida, pine flatwoods predominate, with mixed oak and hardwood hammocks and some cypress swamps present also.

The Panhandle is largely pine flatwoods with some cypress swamp.