The Florida Keys is a long archipelago that extends over 190 kilometers (120 miles) southward from the mainland peninsula. The chain consists of a maze of more than 4,500 cays and islands surrounded by the lazy, turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Visitors find a Florida Keys map an almost essential tool to successfully navigate the labyrinthine puzzle of islets and coves.
The original inhabitants of the islands were the Calusa and Tequesta native Americans. European discovery of the islands was made by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. The term key is a corruption of the Spanish word cayo.
The Keys are home to about 80,000 people. The best known islands in the group are Key Largo in the north (made famous by the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name) and Key West in the south (the home of Ernest Hemingway). One-third of the permanent population in the region lives on Key West.
The islands divide the Gulf of Mexico to the west from the Atlantic Ocean to the east. They lie in waters known as the Florida Straits. Their total land area is small at 137 square miles (356 square kilometers). Their total population is about 80,000 people, one third of this figure located on Key West.
Many visitors travel to the region by private yachts and use their vessel as a mobile platform to move about and explore. The waters are protected by sea swells by reefs. But many sections can be shallow and a challenge to navigate safely, particularly by sailboats with sizable water draft. Skippers are typically advised to study their navigation and tide charts carefully.
Skippers with shallow draft vessels may approach the Keys along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). From Miami and Biscayne Bay, the ICW passes through both Card and Barnes Sounds into Florida Bay, a passage limited to vessels with a draft of five feet or less. The ocean route is through Hawk Channel, this being a passage marked by buoys and runs between the islands and the outer-most reefs.
A Florida Keys map is useful to making the most of a visit to the archipelago. The region is studded with many marine reserves, vessel wreck sites, nature parks and popular diving spots and proverbial secret fishing spots. There is even a National Key Deer Refuge on the south side of Spanish Harbor. A map will help visitors find their personal favorites. Read more about: florida keys map
The original inhabitants of the islands were the Calusa and Tequesta native Americans. European discovery of the islands was made by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. The term key is a corruption of the Spanish word cayo.
The Keys are home to about 80,000 people. The best known islands in the group are Key Largo in the north (made famous by the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name) and Key West in the south (the home of Ernest Hemingway). One-third of the permanent population in the region lives on Key West.
The islands divide the Gulf of Mexico to the west from the Atlantic Ocean to the east. They lie in waters known as the Florida Straits. Their total land area is small at 137 square miles (356 square kilometers). Their total population is about 80,000 people, one third of this figure located on Key West.
Many visitors travel to the region by private yachts and use their vessel as a mobile platform to move about and explore. The waters are protected by sea swells by reefs. But many sections can be shallow and a challenge to navigate safely, particularly by sailboats with sizable water draft. Skippers are typically advised to study their navigation and tide charts carefully.
Skippers with shallow draft vessels may approach the Keys along the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). From Miami and Biscayne Bay, the ICW passes through both Card and Barnes Sounds into Florida Bay, a passage limited to vessels with a draft of five feet or less. The ocean route is through Hawk Channel, this being a passage marked by buoys and runs between the islands and the outer-most reefs.
A Florida Keys map is useful to making the most of a visit to the archipelago. The region is studded with many marine reserves, vessel wreck sites, nature parks and popular diving spots and proverbial secret fishing spots. There is even a National Key Deer Refuge on the south side of Spanish Harbor. A map will help visitors find their personal favorites. Read more about: florida keys map
