Miami to Buenos Aires

A great egret wades amongst the cypress tress within the Everglades National Park. The Everglades are a unique and important habitat for a variety of birds and animals.

A map of the Southern Florida peninsula, highlighting the Everglades (including the National Park), the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee.

U.S. Marines searching for the Indians among the mangroves during the Seminole War (1835 - 1842) - this conflict devastated the local Native American population.

Mangrove swamps along the coastline of the Everglades National Park. Mangrove trees are an important part of the wetland ecosystem, "filtering" brackish water.

Large alligators are a common sight in the Everglade wetlands - feeding on fish, birds and whatever they can find, they thrive in the channels between the sawgrass prairie.

Concerns over pollution across the Everglades now mean that these warning signs are a common sight - anglers are advised not to eat a variety of fish due to their high mercury content.

1900 - Charlie Cypress, a member of the Seminole tribe and resident of the Everglades. The Seminoles became the primary tribal group in the area prior to the Seminole Wars.

A diagram showing the main bodies of water within the Everglades, with the orange arrows indicating the main direction of water flow southwards through the peninsula.

The Everglades are home to a wide variety of birds, as a globally important wetland. Here, great egrets, wood storks and other birds share access to water, food and nesting grounds.

This diagram shows the main landscape and vegetation types across Southern Florida before human intervention, such as artificial drainage, took place.

Red mangrove trees on the banks of a tidal estuary in the Everglades National Park: these incredible trees can grow in poor conditions, including salt water, and protect the coastline from storm damage.

A portrait of the great Seminole Chief Osceola (1804–1838). Osceola was violently against any relocation of his people and fought strongly against this throughout the conflicts.

1915 - A view of a canal lock in the Everglades Drainage District. These canals were built to drain the land for agricultural and building purposes.

Natural tidal channels allow boats to weave between islands and inlets on the Florida Keys.

Water-side villas near Key West. The turquoise warm waters, white sandy beaches and sub-tropical climate make the Keys a popular destination for tourists and the rich and famous.

A surviving section of the bridge making up the Overseas Railroad, built between 1902 and 1912. Most of the line was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935.

The picture perfect beaches of Key West and the Florida Keys are a huge draw for tourists from all over the world.

The Cutter Dependable is among many coastguard cutters who regularly patrol the straits between the Keys and Cuba, looking for illegal smuggling of drugs or people.

Construction workers building the Overseas Railroad between 1902 and 1912. The railroad was the first surface link between the Keys and the mainland.

The "Seven Mile Bridge" provides a road link stretching from Knight's Key to Little Duck Key, over a distance of 11km. Remnants of the Overseas Railway bridge can be seen on the right.

An aerial view of the iconic "Seven Mile Bridge", stretching across the length of the Keys to link Little Duck Key with the mainland.

1920s - A Florida East Coast Railway train traveling on the Overseas Extension railroad bridge. The link was the first time Key West had been connected to the mainland.

A satellite image of Key West, showing the natural channels carved out by the sea to the left of the image, and the man-made straight dredged channels for navigation in the far right.

A satellite view of the Keys, stretching in a chain of 1,700 islands from the Florida mainland into the Caribbean sea. Sediment and marine organisms show as milky patterns in the water.

A monument marking the southernmost point of the United States on South Street in Key West - Cuba is approximately 15 km from Key West.

The proposed flag for the Conch Republic - Key West briefly claimed independence from the US during a row over a Border Patrol checkpoint in 1982, a stunt still celebrated today.

An aerial view of Miami, with the Port of Miami seen top right, connected to downtown Miami via a series of bridges.

Julia Tuttle is known as the "Mother of Miami" for her role in promoting the growth of the city by convincing Henry Flager to build a railway to connect it with the rest of Florida.

A 1913 poster advertising the Florida East Coast Railway - Henry Flagler's railway was key to the development of Florida and the influx of tourists and new residents.

Brickell Avenue and downtown Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, due to its border location between the US and Latin America.

Night over Biscayne Bay and the Port of Miami, a crucial port of entry for US trade with South America and the Caribbean.

Cruise ships line the quayside in the Port of Miami - known as the "cruise capital of the world", it is the busiest port for cruise ships anywhere in the world.

The beautiful sandy beaches and warm winter weather draw many tourists to Miami, with thousands arriving in each enormous cruise liner every day.

A 1930s map showing the East Coast Florida Railway, with "extensions" available via cruise ship to Cuba and the Bahamas.

The Miami skyline as seen from Miami Beach. Miami's sky-scraper filled horizon has been voted the third most impressive in the US, and 19th in the world.

Downtown Miami in 2007 - the sharp increase in the construction of large skyscrapers has contributed to the on-going "Manhattanisation" of Miami.

A typical summer thunderstorm rolls in across Miami from the Everglades - the searing heat of summer days often results in late afternoon convective storms with heavy rain.

Miami is a seasonal home to thousands of migrants to come for the predictably warm weather and access to beautiful beaches year on year - many of these apartments will be holiday homes.

One of the original Florida East Coast Railway locomotives - #1594. The Railway was crucial to Florida's growth and Miami's development as a city of trade and tourism.