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The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S state of Florida comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the neotropic ecozone the ecosystem it forms is not presently found anywhere else on earth the system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state the Everglades experience a wide range of weather patterns from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season the Seminole Tribe gave the large body of water the name Okeechobee meaning "River of Grass" to describe the sawgrass marshes part of a complex system of interdependent ecosystems that include cypress swamps the estuarine mangrove forests of the Ten Thousand Islands tropical hardwood hammocks pine rockland and the marine environment of Florida Bay Throughout the 20th century the Everglades suffered significant loss of habitat and environmental degradation. . Miami is split roughly into north south west and Downtown areas the heart of the city is Downtown Miami which is on the eastern side and includes the neighborhoods of Brickell Virginia Key Watson Island as well as PortMiami Downtown Miami is Florida's largest and most influential central business district with many major banks courthouses financial headquarters cultural and tourist attractions schools parks and a large residential population Brickell Avenue has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States Just northwest of Downtown is the Health District which is Miami's center for hospitals research institutes and biotechnology with hospitals such as Jackson Memorial Hospital and the University of Miami's Leonard M Miller School of Medicine; Brickell Loop Humans arrived in the Florida peninsula approximately 15,000 years ago Paleo-Indians came to Florida probably following large game that included giant sloths saber-toothed cats and spectacled bears They found an arid landscape that supported plants and animals adapted for desert conditions However 6,500 years ago climate changes brought a wetter landscape; large animals became extinct in Florida and the Paleo-Indians slowly adapted and became the Archaic peoples They conformed to the environmental changes and created many tools with the various resources available During the Late Archaic period the climate became wetter again and approximately 3000 BCE the rise of water tables allowed an increase in population and cultural activity Florida Indians developed into three distinct but similar cultures that were named for the bodies of water near where they were located: Okeechobee Caloosahatchee and Glades!

! . Communities Religion in Florida (2014) Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Building 2006 Main article: Central Business District (downtown Miami). Regional centers Gusman Center for the Performing Arts Downtown Miami, Julia Tuttle Causeway connects Miami and Miami Beach. Education "The SSC sponsors championships in 14 sports for men and women: baseball men's and women's basketball men's and women's cross country men's and women's golf rowing men's and women's soccer softball men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.".