TIDAL SCOUR SECTOR 



CAPE SECTOR 



Figure 6. Coastline types of 



the lower Everglades 

 (adapted from Spackman 

 et al. 1964). 



2.2 TAYLOR SLOUGH/FLORIDA BAY 



Figure 7 presents a stylized 

 map of the major physiographic 

 delineations of the Taylor Slough/ 

 Florida Bay drainage basin. For our 

 purposes the area is further broken 

 down into a total of 8 physiographic 

 subzones as follows: 



(1) Taylor Slough Headwaters 



(2) Upper, Middle, & Lower 

 Taylor Slough 



(3) Taylor Slough Coastal Drain- 

 age 



(4) Coastal Swamps & Lagoons 



(5) Florida Bay 



Northern Subenvironment 

 Interior Subenvironment 

 Gulf Subenvironment 

 Atlantic Subenvironment 



Taylor Slough Headwaters 



The central component of the 

 Florida Bay drainage basin is Taylor 

 Slough. It occupies a more or less 

 distinct surface drainage area 

 formed by an extension of the Miami 

 Coastal Ridge south and a southwest/ 

 northeast trending offshoot of this 

 ridge known as Long Pine Key. Puri 

 and Vernon (1964) show this as a 

 continuous connection which forms 

 the upper boundary of what they 

 refer to as the "southern slope", 

 while Davis (1943) refers to these 

 areas as the "Southern Coast and 

 Islands". 



Nonetheless, a hydrologic 



bridge does exist at the confluence 

 of the Miami Rock Ridge and the 

 Everglades Keys (Davis 1943) con- 

 necting the southern slope and the 

 area to the north. This northern 

 area is known as the Taylor Slough 

 headwaters (Waller 1979). It lies 

 partially within the boundaries of 

 Everglades National Park. Most of 

 its approximately 250 km* (97 

 mi^) area lies within a privately 

 owned tract of land known as the 

 East Everglades (DERM 1980). Land 

 use in this area reflects the grow- 

 ing pressure of urban and agricul- 

 tural interest. 



The headwaters of Taylor Slough 

 are separated from the Shark River 

 Slough on the north by a narrow 

 strip of land, the Rocky Glades, 

 which is considered to be in the 

 main stem of the Everglades sheet 

 flow from Lake Okeechobee south to 

 Whitewater Bay (Parker et al. 1955, 

 McPherson et al. 1976, DERM 1980). 

 Surface relief in the Taylor Slough 

 headwaters is extremely limited. 

 The area is perched at an elevation 

 of approximately 2.3 m (7 ft) above 

 mean sea level. Both Shark River 

 Slough to the north and Taylor 

 Slough to the south are slightly 

 lower in elevation. 



17 



