Florida is a haven of biodiversity. At Florida’s southern tip, trees indigenous to the Caribbean grow in thick, tangled jungles, and endemic tree snails creep slowly up the limbs of smooth-barked trees. At Florida’s northern border, you’ll find trillium and columbines in bloom each spring, and rhododendron and mountain laurel nodding over the banks of clear sand-bottomed streams. Between them, 81 different native plant communities flourish. All this in less than 400 feet of difference in elevation!

Unlike our neighbors to the north, Florida is relatively flat, with a high point of only 345 feet and a low point of sea level. Of its 58,560 square miles, nearly 10% are covered with water. Yet just a few inches of elevation change brings about dramatic changes in Florida’s habitats. From south to north, these are the major habitats you’ll encounter, with explanations used with the author's permission from The Florida Trail: The Official Guide (Sandra Friend)