This may look like multi-coloured algae, but this is in fact an aerial view of the complex waterway systems of the beachside Florida city of Boca Raton.
Its waterways are part natural and part man-made. Featured above is a snapshot of the man-made waterway systems, six miles inland, on the west side of the city. Just west of here are Florida's Everglades, a natural region of marsh-like wetlands. In the wet season, these wetlands form a slow-moving river.
"South Floridians began manipulating their environment almost as soon as the 1890s," says Patricia Fiorillo, assistant curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society. The suburban planning pictured above, she adds, was mostly developed from the 1980s onwards.
As recently as 1968 these suburban developments did not exist, with the area criss-crossed by farms and drainage ditches. Today, Boca Raton is home to 91,00 people with the average altitude of the houses reaching four metres above sea level. "Flooding is always an issue," Fiorillo says. "Our water management systems are part of an ageing infrastructure."
Although tidal flooding is not a concern thanks to the coast of Baco Raton being surrounded by cliffs, the temperamental wetlands provide an annual threat. Recent destruction by Hurricane Irma also devastated the region, with 49 per cent of the city being left without power and the mayor reporting several million dollars worth of damage. The image above was taken long before the hurricane hit.
"Generally, if extreme weather is expected the water is drained into the everglades or a water retaining area by our pump systems prior to the storm arriving," says Fiorillo.
Image courtesy of Daily Overview.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
