Description Well, now you know why it is called Big Cypress! These trees are tall which means every now and again some of them get hit by the lightning which can sometimes be quite dramatic in this part of the world. Lightning and the occasional resulting fires is nature's way of 'weeding out' every now an again....The area of the Everglades which basically covers the area inside the two coastlines and south of Lake Okeechobee has been called 'The River of Grass.' Water from Central Southern Florida flows very gently southwards leaving its sediment which makes for some VERY rich soil in places... (Take a look at the soil down near Homestead not far from the main entrance to the Everglades National Park proper and you'll see what I mean with the fields growing every sort of fruit and vegetable possible.)