1892 Perron map FLORIDA KEYS, #68 |
Nice map titled Chaîne des récifs Floridiens, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression. Overall size approx. 16 x 16 cm, image size approx. 9.5 x 6 cm. From: Les Etats Unis, volume no. 16 of La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 volumes (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
Florida Keys
island chain, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties, southern Florida,
U.S. Composed of coral and limestone, the islands curve southwestward for about
220 miles (355 km) from Virginia Key in the Atlantic Ocean (just south of Miami
Beach) to Loggerhead Key of the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico. Bodies of
water between the keys and the mainland include Biscayne and Florida bays.
The keys were originally inhabited by such Native American peoples as the Calusa
and Tequesta. The Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León visited the area in 1513.
The first permanent settlers arrived about 1822 and engaged in fishing and
salvaging shipwrecks. Population growth and economic development in the
archipelago have fluctuated over time, reaching one of the highest peaks in the
1890s. The greatest disaster to strike the keys was a hurricane in September
1935 that killed hundreds of people and caused widespread property damage.
The western terminus of the Florida Keys is sometimes considered to be Key West,
the most populous and economically developed of the islands. The Overseas
Highway, running from the mainland to Key West, connects all of the main islands
and is one of the longest overwater roads in the world, with 42 bridges,
including one 7-mile (11-km) span. Completed in 1938, the highway was built over
the route of the Florida East Coast Railway, finished in 1912 by financier and
developer Henry M. Flagler and destroyed by the 1935 hurricane.
Largest of the keys is Key Largo, about 30 miles (50 km) long and formerly known
for its plantations of key limes (used to make key lime pies). John Pennekamp
Coral Reef State Park, which contains large living coral formations, is the
first undersea park in the United States. It is some 25 miles (40 km) long and 3
miles (5 km) wide and lies along Key Largo's east coast. Islamorada, located
mainly on Upper Matecumbe Key, has a monument to World War I veterans and
victims of the 1935 hurricane. Long Key State Park is on Long Key, just
southwest of Islamorada. The main town of the middle keys is Marathon, a centre
of extensive resort development. Nearby is the Museum of Natural History of the
Florida Keys and a dolphin research centre. Bahia Honda State Park, on Bahia
Honda Key, features a large area of tropical palms and beach recreation
facilities.
Many of the keys fall within the boundaries of three national parks. Biscayne
National Park, a short distance south of Miami Beach, includes several of the
northernmost keys, and most of the keys in Florida Bay are within Everglades
National Park. Dry Tortugas National Park, which includes historic Fort
Jefferson (begun 1846), encompasses all the westernmost keys. The keys are
protected by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, established in 1990,
which covers an area of some 3,600 square miles (9,300 square km). Much of the
northern area of the lower keys has been designated the Great White Heron
National Wildlife Refuge, and another refuge is located immediately west of Key
West. Big Pine Key, largest of the lower keys, is a refuge for the tiny key deer
and has unusual displays of cacti.
The Florida Keys are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life. Mangroves,
sea grasses, and coral reefs are abundant. Animals such as alligators, sea
turtles, and the endangered manatee can be found there, and more than 600
species of fish live in the reefs. The keys are a popular tourist destination,
and tourism and commercial fishing are the major components of the economy.