Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are an archipelago of islands extending from the southeastern Florida peninsula near Miami, running south and then curving 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 home to Miami Beach, and is actually attached at the north end to the mainland, 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.

Major Islands

Most of the following islands are inhabited, and connected to the Overseas Highway via local roads.

Upper Keys

Middle Keys

Lower Keys

Dry Tortugas

the Dry Tortugas

History

Overseas Railway

The Keys were long acessible 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

The Keys were the site of the deaths of hundreds of people working for the railway when Flagler refused to let his workers evacuate before the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, which submerged the islands, destroying the railway and killing 435. Flagler County, Florida is still named after him despite this.

The storm was the most devastating to have hit the U.S. at the time, a full Category 5 with sustained winds over 155 MPH (250km/h). Only hurricanes Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992) have ever hit the U.S. with such strength since then.

Seven Mile Bridge

One of the longest bridges in existence when it was built, the Seven Mile Bridge connects Boot Key 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 over Pigeon Key, where a turnoff 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 well-known and very sour Key lime (or Mexican lime) is a naturalized species, apparently introduced from the Yucatan 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 small limes which are particularly acidic and uniquely fragrant.

The Keys are also home to a unique species called the Key deer, protected by the National Key Deer Refuge.