Friday, July 1, 2011

Florida Keys Map A Useful Tool For Visitors To The Area

By Christie Sellers


The Florida Keys is a complex archipelago extending over 120 miles (190 kilometers) into the Gulf of Mexico from the southern tip of the Florida panhandle. The chain is comprised of over 4,500 islands and cays surrounded by the azure waters of the gulf. Visitors to the area are strongly advised to carry a Florida Keys map because the geography is fiendishly complicated.

Many of the islands are fringed by long sections of stunning coral reefs. The area is a veritable marine paradise. It attracts keen anglers, boaters, scuba divers and snorkelers, and water sport enthusiasts. There is a continuous flow of visitors to the region throughout the year, summer and winter.

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.

It was well-placed for trade with Cuba and the Bahamas. It was also on the main trade route to and from New Orleans. As improved navigation led to fewer shipwrecks, during the late nineteenth century, its fortunes waned. Key West remains one of the most visited of the islands and is a constant host to large ocean cruise ships.

Vessels with shallow draft travel to the islands from Miami via the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). From Biscayne Bay, the ICW runs through Card Sound and Barnes Sound into Florida Bay. Passage along this route is possible by boats with a draft of no more than five feet. Larger vessels requiring greater draft take the ocean route through Hawk Channel. This route is marked by permanent buoys and is flanked by the outer-most reefs on the east and the islands on the west.

A Florida Keys map is an invaluable piece of equipment when moving about the islands given their great number and complicated pattern. They offer visitors much to explore and do. The map helps tourists get the most enjoyment out of their stay. Read more about: florida keys map




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