Florida Keys
From Freepedia
Image:Islamorada.jpg The Florida Keys are an archipelago or cluster of about 1700 islands in the extreme southeast of the United States. The Keys extend from the southeastern Florida peninsula near Miami, run south and then curve west to Key West, and out to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie in the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the west, and creating Florida Bay. At the nearest point, the southern tip of Key West is just 90 miles (145 km) from Cuba.
Key Biscayne is actually attached at the north end to the mainland, and is therefore not considered part of the Keys by some Floridians. It is, however, part of the same geological formation, atop which sits coral rock islands, as well as partly-submerged mangrove islands. The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County, which covers mostly the Everglades on the mainland, and all of the islands from Key Largo south and west.
Contents |
Major islands
Most of the following islands are inhabited, and connected to the Overseas Highway via local roads.
Upper keys
- Key Biscayne Not part of the Overseas Hwy.
- Key Largo
- Tavernier
- Islamorada A group of islands consisting of
among others
Middle keys
- Craig Key
- Fiesta Key
- Rattlesnake Key
- Long Key
- Conch Key
- Duck Key
- Grassy Key
- Deer Key
- Key Vaca
- Marathon
- Boot Key
Lower keys
- Bahia Honda
- West Summerland Key
- No Name Key
- Big Pine Key
- Torch Key
- Ramrod Key
- Summerland Key
- Cudjoe Key
- Sugarloaf Key
- Saddlebunch Keys
- Big Coppitt Key
- Boca Chica
- Key Haven
- Key West
Outlying islands
These are only accessible by boat.
- the Marquesas Keys atoll
- the Dry Tortugas (not shown on map)
Transportation
Most islands are connected by the Overseas Highway. There has been a railway, but in 1935 its operation was discontinued. See also the history section.
History
Overseas Railway
The Keys were long accessible only by water. This changed with the completion Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway in the early 1910s. Flagler, a major developer of Florida's Atlantic coast, extended his Florida East Coast Railway down to Key West with an ambitious series of over-sea railroad trestles.
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
- Main article: Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
One of the worst hurricanes to strike the U.S. made landfall near Islamorada in the Upper Keys on Labor Day, Monday Sept. 2. Winds were estimated to have gusted to 200 mph, raising a storm surge more than 17 feet above sea level that washed over the islands. More than 400 people were killed, though some estimates say that more than 600 died in the terrible storm.
The Labor Day Hurricane is one of only three hurricanes to make landfall at Category 5 strength on the U.S. Coast since reliable weather records began (about 1850). The other storms were (Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992).
In 1935, new bridges were under construction to connect a highway through the entire Keys. Hundreds of World War I veterans working on the roadway as part of a government relief program were housed in unreinforced buildings in three construction camps in the Upper Keys. When the evacuation train failed to reach the camps before the storm, more than 200 veterans perished. Their deaths caused anger and charges of mismanagement that led to a congressional investigation.
The storm also ended the 23-year run of the Overseas Railway; the damaged tracks were never rebuilt, and the Overseas Highway (U.S. Highway 1) replaced the railroad as the main transportation route from Miami to Key West.
Seven Mile Bridge
One of the longest bridges in existence when it was built, the Seven Mile Bridge connects Vaca Key (island town of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Bahia Honda (pronounced ba-EE-uh OWN-dah in Spanish) in the Lower Keys. True to its name, it is seven miles or about 11km long, and passes Pigeon Key, where section of the old bridge allows access to the small island.
After the destruction of the railway by the hurricane, it and the other bridges were rebuilt by the United States Federal Government as an automobile highway. US 1 runs the length of the Keys, and is called the Overseas Highway there. (US 1 also runs the entire way up the eastern seaboard to Maine.)
Conch Republic
In 1982, the United States Border Patrol had established a roadblock and inspection points on US Highway 1, stopping all northbound traffic returning to the mainland at Florida City, to search vehicles for illegal drugs and illegal immigrants. The Key West City Council repeatedly complained about the roadblocks, which were a major inconvenience for people traveling from Key West, and hurt the Keys' important tourism industry.
After various unsuccessful complaints and attempts to get a legal injunction against the blockade failed in federal court in Miami, on 23 April, 1982 Key West mayor Dennis Wardlow and the city council declared the independence of the Keys, calling it the "Conch Republic". After one minute of secession, he (as "President") surrendered to an officer of the Key West Naval Air Station (NAS), and requested one billion ($1,000,000,000) dollars in "foreign aid".
The stunt succeeded in generating great publicity for the Keys' plight, and the inspection station roadblock was removed.
Environment
The Keys are in the subtropics between 24 and 25 degrees north latitude. The climate and environment are closer to the that of the Caribbean than South Florida, though unlike the Caribbean's volcanic islands, the Keys were built by plants and animals.
The Upper Keys islands are remnants of large coral reefs, which became fossilized and exposed as sea level declined. The Lower Keys are composed of sandy-type accumulations of limestone grains produced by plants and marine organisms.
The natural habitats of the Keys are upland forests, inland wetlands and shoreline zones. Soil ranges from sand to marl to rich, decomposed leaf litter. In some places, "caprock" (the eroded surface of coral formations) covers the ground. Rain falling through leaf debris becomes acidic and dissolves holes in the limestone, where soil accumulates and tree roots find purchase.
The climate is subtropical and the Keys are the only frost-free place in Florida. There are two main "seasons": hot, wet, and humid from about June through October, and somewhat drier and cooler weather from November through May. Many plants grow slowly or go dormant in the dry season. Some native trees are deciduous, and drop their leaves in the winter or with spring winds.
The Keys have distinctive plant and animals species, some found nowhere else in America, as the Keys define the northern extent of their ranges. The climate also allows many imported plants to thrive. Nearly any houseplant known to commerce, and most landscape plants of the South, can thrive in the Keys climate. Some exotic species which arrived as landscape plants now invade and threaten natural areas.
Some plants that seem to define the Keys are not native, including coconut palm, bougainvillea, hibiscus, and Papaya.
The well-known and very sour Key lime (or Mexican lime) is a naturalized species, apparently introduced from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where it had been previously been introduced from Malaysia by explorers from Spain. The tree grows vigorously and has thorns, and produces golf-ball-size yellow fruit which is particularly acidic (even in highly alkaline coral sand soil) and uniquely fragrant. Naturally, Key lime pie was invented here as well.
The Keys are also home to a unique species called the Key deer, protected by the National Key Deer Refuge. About 70 miles (110 km) west of Key West is Dry Tortugas National Park, one of the most isolated and therefore well-preserved in the world. The name derives from the fact that the small hump-shaped islands look like dry tortoise (tortuga in Spanish) shells from a distance.
Tropical cyclones
The Keys are regularly threatened by tropical storms and hurricanes, leading to evacuations to the mainland. Untouched for many years, a carefree attitude led many residents to view "mandatory" evacuations as "voluntary" and "voluntary" evacuation orders as nothing at all. The attitude proved dangerous when Hurricane Georges (pronounced zhorzh in French), after tearing up much of the Caribbean, caused damage and extensive flooding in the Lower Keys in 1998, before making landfall in Mississippi.
Tropical cyclones present special dangers and challenges to the entire Keys. Because no area of the islands is more than 20 feet above sea level (and many are only a few feet elevation), and water surrounds the islands, nearly every neighborhood is subject to devastating flooding as well as hurricane winds.
Because of the threat from storm surge, evacuations are routinely ordered when the National Weather Service issues a hurricane watch or warning, and are sometimes ordered for a tropical storm warning. Evacuation of the Keys depends on causeways and the two-lane highway to the mainland. Time estimates for evacuating the entire Keys range from 12 to 24 hours. Evacuation estimates are significant in emergency planning, of course, but also because they are a factor in local and state regulations for controlling development. The building permit allocation was increased in 2005 when local governments reduced estimates for evacuation.
In the active hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, the Keys were under mandatory evacuation orders several times. Hurricane Katrina (2005), which went on to devastate parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, moved through south Florida and tracked southwest past Key West, causing minor damage and flooding. Hurricane Rita, which went on to destroy parts of Louisiana and Texas, grew from a tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane as it moved westward from the Bahamas, passing south of Key West and causing damage and surge flooding as far north as Key Largo.
The waters surrounding the Keys are part of a protected area known as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Culture and recreation
The "hurricane bravado" is part of the Keys' laid-back atmosphere, as is the somewhat separatist "Conch Republic" attitude. Life is easygoing, with the major industries being tourism and fishing. Ecotourism is also part of this, with many visitors diving in the area's protected waters. A new ferry now takes riders between Key West and Fort Myers, due north on the mainland, along the western edge of Florida Bay.
Key West has long been noted as a gay vacation destination, and is home to the United States' first Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
External links
- A Gazetteer of the Florida Keys
- City of Key West
- History of the Conch Republic
- More about the Marquesas
- National Park Service: Dry Tortugas
- NOAA Marine Sanctuary
- Key West Vacation and visitor information to the Southernmost City.
- Keysplants.com Florida Keys native plants and ecology
| Edit | Florida Keys |
|---|---|
| Upper keys | Key Largo, Islamorada, Tavernier, Plantation Key, Matecumbe Key |
| Middle keys | Craig Key, Fiesta Key, Long Key, Conch Key, Duck Key, Grassy Key, Deer Key, Key Vaca, Boot Key |
| Lower keys | Bahia Honda, West Summerland Key, No Name Key, Big Pine Key, Torch Key, Little Torch Key, Ramrod Key, Summerland Key, Cudjoe Key, Sugarloaf Key, Saddlebunch Keys, Big Coppitt Key, Boca Chica Key, Key Haven, Key West |
| Outlying islands | Dry Tortugas, Marquesas Keys |
| Areas | Florida Bay, Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, National Key Deer Sanctuary, Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park |
| Other topics | Overseas Highway, Overseas Railway, Seven Mile Bridge, Key Deer, Conch Republic, Monroe County, Hurricane Georges, 1935 Hurricane, Theater of the Sea |
