Big Cypress Swamp was once occupied by the Caloosa Indians and the Spanish, and it later became the last refuge of the Seminoles. The region is drained in a north-south direction by creeks, rivers, sloughs, and swamps. Rich in wildlife, trees, plants, shrubs, and flowers, most of the area lies less than fifteen feet above sea level, though fertile hammock forests dot the higher lands. The ever-present cypress, called the "wood eternal," is the oldest living thing on earth.