The Florida Keys
A coral archipelago curving off the tip of Florida
The Florida Keys are a long, curving chain of low coral and limestone islands that arc southwest from the tip of mainland Florida toward the Gulf of Mexico, ending at Key West - the southernmost city in the contiguous United States. Strung together by the Overseas Highway and its 42 bridges, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge, the chain runs about 120 miles out into warm, shallow turquoise water.
The keys are fringed by the only living coral barrier reef in the continental U.S., a magnet for diving, fishing, and boating, much of it protected within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Built on ancient reef and sand, the islands rise only a few feet above the sea, leaving them acutely exposed to hurricanes and rising waters. Key West, with its pastel houses and literary history, anchors the chain's easygoing, end-of-the-road culture.
Related
- Dry Tortugas National ParkFort Jefferson and remote coral keys 70 miles west of Key West
- Biscayne National ParkA park that is 95 percent water, at Miami's doorstep
- Conch RepublicKey West’s tongue-in-cheek secession of 1982
- FloridaThe Sunshine State, a low subtropical peninsula
- Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)The warm ocean basin that shapes America’s southern coast
- Key WestThe southernmost city in the continental U.S.
- MiamiA subtropical city between the Everglades and the sea
- Seven Mile BridgeThe Overseas Highway's long leap through the Florida Keys
- The Overseas HighwayThe road that hops across the Florida Keys