Florida Keys Facts
»The Keys lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the west, and defining one edge of Florida Bay.
»About 70 miles (110 km) west of Key West is Dry Tortugas National Park, one of the most isolated and therefore well-preserved in the world.
»At the nearest point, the southern tip of Key West is just 94 miles (151 km) from Cuba.
»The Florida Keys are between about 23.5 and 25.5 degrees North latitude, in the subtropics.
»Key West has long been noted as a gay vacation destination, and is home to the United States' first Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
»More than 95 percent of the land area of the Florida Keys lies in Monroe County, but a small portion extends northeast into Miami-Dade County, primarily in the city of Islandia, Florida. The total land area is 355.6 km² (137.3 sq mi).
»The Florida Keys are the exposed portions of an ancient coral reef. The northernmost island arising from the ancient reef formation is Elliott Key, in Biscayne National Park.
»Among others, Sunset Key, Wisteria Island, the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas are only accessible by boat.
»The main chain of Keys islands are traversable by motor vehicles on the Overseas Highway, a 127-mile (204 km) section of U.S. 1, which runs from Key West to Fort Kent, Maine in its entirety. The highway was built parallel to the original route of the Overseas Railway, which was not rebuilt following the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.
»Bob's Bunz is a charming bayside restaurant (also known as the Islamorada Bakery) that is popular with locals and tourists alike.
»Original railway bridges were used until the 1980s, when new highway bridges were built alongside. Many of the original railroad and highway bridges remain today as pedestrian fishing piers.
»Public bus service connects the entire Florida Keys island chain. Key West Department of Transportation operates bus service from Key West to Marathon and Miami-Dade Transit operates buses from Marathon to Florida City.
»Many visitors to Key West rent a bicycle and explore the history and architecture of Old Town Key West. Walking tours, including a tour of the unusual Key West Cemetery, are available
For many years in it's early history, Key West was the largest town in Florida, and it grew prosperous on (ship)wrecking. The isolated outpost was well located for trade with Cuba, the Bahamas, and was on the main trade route from New Orleans.
»The island of Key West is about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. In the late 1950's many of the large salt ponds on the eastern side were filled in, nearly doubling the original land mass of the island.
»One of the longest bridges when it was built, the Seven Mile Bridge connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon in the Middle Keys) to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Almost true to its name, the piling-supported concrete bridge is 35,862 ft or 6.79 miles long.
»Tennessee Williams first became a regular visitor to Key West in 1941 and is said to have written the first draft of A Streetcar Named Desire while staying in 1947 at the La Concha Hotel
Key West is much closer to Havana than it is to Miami.
»The climate and environment are closer to that of the Caribbean than the rest of Florida.
»The Upper Keys islands are remnants of large coral reefs, which became fossilized and exposed as sea level declined. The Lower Keys are composed of sandy-type accumulations of limestone grains produced by plants and marine organisms.
»The tropical climate of the Keys means it is the only frost-free place in Florida
Some plants that seem to define the Keys are not native, including coconut palm, bougainvillea, hibiscus, and papaya.
»The well-known and very sour Key lime (or Mexican lime) is a naturalized species, apparently introduced from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where it had previously been introduced from Malaysia by explorers from Spain.
»Numerous artists and writers have passed through Key West, but the two most associated with the island are Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams.
»Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms while living above the showroom of a Key West Ford dealership at 314 Simonton Street while awaiting delivery of a Ford roadster purchased by the uncle of his wife Pauline in 1928.
»In 1890 Key West had a population of nearly 18,800 and was the biggest and richest city in Florida.
»The Key West Botanical Forest and Garden is an excellent, frost-free arboretum and botanical garden containing a number of "champion tree" specimens.
»The name "Islamorada", meaning "purple island", comes from early Spanish explorers in the area. Its pronuciation has been Anglicized to aisle-a-more-AH-dah.
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