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The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States. It is the third largest coral barrier reef system in the world (after the
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Au ...
and
Belize Barrier Reef The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly offshore in the north and in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a long section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, ...
). It lies a few miles seaward of the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and ...
, is about 4 miles (6 to 7 km) wide and extends (along the 20 meter depth contour) from Fowey Rocks just east of
Soldier Key Soldier Key is an island in Biscayne National Park in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, about three miles north of the Ragged Keys, five miles south of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne, seven-and ...
to just south of the Marquesas Keys. The barrier reef tract forms a great arc, concentric with the Florida Keys, with the northern end, in
Biscayne National Park Biscayne National Park is an American national park located south of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and the shore of the bay is the l ...
, oriented north-south and the western end, south of the Marquesas Keys, oriented east-west. The rest of the reef outside Biscayne National Park lies within
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida. It includes approximately 70 nautical square miles (240 km²) of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. The park is approximately 25 miles in length ...
and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Isolated coral patch reefs occur northward from Biscayne National Park as far north as Stuart, in Martin County. Coral reefs are also found in
Dry Tortugas National Park Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...
west of the Marquesas Keys. There are more than 6,000 individual reefs in the system. The reefs are 5,000 to 7,000 years old, having developed since sea levels rose following the Wisconsinan glaciation. The densest and most spectacular reefs, along with the highest water clarity, are found to the seaward of
Key Largo Key Largo ( es, Cayo Largo) is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected b ...
(in and beyond John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park) and Elliott Key where the two long keys help protect the reefs from the effects of water exchange with
Florida Bay Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland (the Florida Everglades) and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited exchange of ...
,
Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is l ...
, Card Sound and Barnes Sound. The bays and sounds (all between the Florida Keys and the mainland) tend to have lower
salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal t ...
, higher
turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids ...
and wider temperature variations than the water in the open ocean. Channels between the Keys allow brackish water from the bays to flow onto the reefs (especially in the middle Keys), limiting their growth.


Reef structure and communities

The Florida Reef consists of two ridges separated from the Florida Keys by the Hawk Channel. Closest to the Keys is a sand ridge called ''White Bank'', covered by large beds of sea grass, with patch reefs scattered across it. Further out to sea on the edge of the
Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...
is the second ridge forming the outer reefs, covered by reefs and hard banks composed of coral rubble and sand. Almost 1,400 species of marine plants and animals, including more than 40 species of
stony coral Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...
s and 500 species of fish, live on the Florida Reef. The Florida Reef lies close to the northern limit for tropical corals, but the species diversity on the reef is comparable to that of reef systems in the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
. The
Florida Museum of Natural History The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) is Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural-history museum. Its main facilities are located at 3215 Hull Road on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The main pub ...
defines three communities on the Florida reefs. The ''hardbottom'' community lies closest to the Florida Keys and consists primarily of
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular m ...
, sea fans ( gorgonians) and stony corals growing on
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
rock that has a thin covering of sand. The stony corals in hardbottom communities include smooth starlet coral (''Siderastrea radians''), mustard hill coral ('' Porites astreoides''), golfball coral (''Favia fragum''), elliptical star coral (''Dichocoenia stokesii'') and common
brain coral Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of geneticall ...
(''Diploria strigosa''). Hardbottom provides habitat for
anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand ...
s,
mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
s,
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s,
spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Sou ...
s, seastars,
sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...
s,
tunicate A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...
s and various fish, including grunts (''Haemulon'' spp.), snappers (''Lutjanus'' spp.),
grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...
s (''Epinephelus'' spp.), Atlantic blue tang (''Acanthurus coeruleus''),
Ocean surgeon The ocean surgeon or ocean surgeonfish (''Acanthurus bahianus'') is a tropical fish known to live in reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean, especially the Caribbean Sea. It is sometimes marketed fresh as a food item,Baensch, H.A. and H. Debelius (1 ...
(''Acanthurus bahianus'') and Great barracuda (''Spyraena barracuda''). Second is the ''patch reef'' community. Patch reefs form in shallow water (three to six meters deep), some in Hawk Channel and some on the outer reef, but mainly on White Bank between Hawk Channel and the outer reefs. Patch reefs start from corals growing on a hard bottom, but grow upward as new corals establish themselves on the skeletons of dead corals. Most of the structure of patch reefs is formed from star (''
Montastraea annularis ''Orbicella annularis'', commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date. It a ...
'', ''Siderastrea siderea'') and
brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in ...
corals (''Diploria'' spp.). Other corals attach wherever there is an opening. Patch reefs may grow up to the surface of the water, and spread outwards. ''Dome''-type patch reefs (such as Hen and Chickens), found in Hawk Channel and on White Bank, are round or elliptical, and are generally less than three meters high, but may reach up to nine meters high. Dome-type patch reefs are surrounded by sand which is kept clear due to browsing by long-spined sea urchins and grass-eating fish. ''Linear''-type patch reefs are found on the outer reefs, and are linear or curved. They occur in single or multiple rows, trending the same direction as the bank reefs on the outer reefs. Linear-type patch reefs often include
elkhorn coral Elkhorn coral (''Acropora palmata'') is an important reef-building coral in the Caribbean. The species has a complex structure with many branches which resemble that of elk antlers; hence, the common name. The branching structure creates habit ...
, which is rare on the dome-type patch reefs. As dead coral skeletons age and are weakened by the activities of boring
sponges Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through th ...
,
worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city ** Worms (electoral district) * Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm ...
, and
mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
and by wave action, parts of a patch reef may collapse. Patch reefs provide habitat for spiny lobsters and for many species of fish, including Bluehead wrasse (''
Thalassoma bifasciatum ''Thalassoma bifasciatum'', the bluehead, bluehead wrasse or blue-headed wrasse, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a wrasse from the family Labridae. It is native to the coral reefs of the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. ...
''),
damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 3 ...
(''Chromis'' spp.), Ocean surgeon, French and queen angelfish (''Pomacanthus'' spp.), white, caesar and spanish grunts (''Haemulon'' ssp.), yellowtail and other snappers, redband and stoplight
parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, r ...
(''Sparisoma'' ssp.),
sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...
(''Abudefduf saxatilis''), tomtate (''Haemulon aurolineatum''), trumpetfish (''Aulostomus maculatus''),
filefish The filefish (Monacanthidae) are a diverse family of tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish, which are also known as foolfish, leatherjackets or shingles. They live in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Filefish are closely rel ...
, groupers, snappers, bar jack (''Caranx ruber''), great barracuda,
pufferfish Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfi ...
,
squirrelfish Holocentrinae is a subfamily of Holocentridae containing 40 recognized species and one proposed species. Its members are typically known as squirrelfish and all are nocturnal. All three genera in the subfamily are found in the Atlantic and '' ...
, cardinalfish, and green morays (''Gymnothorax funebris''). Third is the ''bank reef'' community. Bank reefs are larger than patch reefs and are found on the outer reefs. Bank reefs consist of three zones. The ''reef flat'' is closest to the keys, and consists of
coralline algae Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of re ...
growing on fragments of coral skeletons. Further out to sea are the ''spur and groove formations'', low ridges of coral (the spurs) separated by channels with sand bottoms (the grooves). The shallowest parts of the spurs support fire corals and
zoanthids Zoanthids ( order Zoantharia also called Zoanthidea or Zoanthiniaria) are an order of cnidarians commonly found in coral reefs, the deep sea and many other marine environments around the world. These animals come in a variety of different coloniz ...
. Starting at five or six feet deep, Elkhorn, star, and brain corals are the most important members of the community. Various types of gorgonians are also common. Beyond the spur and groove zone is the ''forereef'', which slopes down to the deeps. The upper forereef is dominated by star coral. At greater depths plate-like corals dominate, and then as the available light fades, sponges and non-reef building corals become common. Bank reefs provide habitat for various fishes, including French angelfish, blue and queen
parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, r ...
, Queen triggerfish (''Balistes vetula''), rock beauties (''Holacanthus tricolor''), Goatfish (''Parupeneus cyclostomus''), porkfish ('' Anisotremus virginicus'') and snappers. The sand found around and in the Florida Reef is composed of shell, coral skeleton and limestone fragments. Other common species of hard coral found on the Florida Reef include
Ivory Bush Coral ''Oculina varicosa'', or the ivory bush coral, is a scleractinian deep-water coral primarily found at depths of 70-100m, and ranges from Bermuda and Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. ''Oculina varicosa'' flourishes at the O ...
(''Oculina diffusa''), which is the dominant coral in the patch reefs along the Florida coast north of the Florida Keys,
staghorn coral The staghorn coral (''Acropora cervicornis'') is a branching, stony coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from depth. The upper ...
(''Acropora cervicornis''), lettuce coral (''Agaricia agaricites''), grooved brain coral (''Diploria labyrinthiformis''), boulder star coral (''Monstastrea annularis''), great star coral (''M. cavernosa''), clubbed finger coral (''
Porites ''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symm ...
porites'') and massive starlet coral (''Siderastrea siderea'').


Individual reefs

Notable individual reefs in the Florida reef system include: * 9-foot Stake (reef) * Alligator Reef * Ajax Reef * Carysfort Reef * Cheeca Rocks (reef) * Coffins Patch (reef) * Conch Reef * Crocker Reef * Davis Reef * Dry Rocks (reef) * Eastern Dry Rocks (reef) * Eastern Sambo (reef) * French Reef * Grecian Rocks (reef) * Hen and Chickens (reef) * Looe Key *
Marker 32 (reef) Marker 32 is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the south of Key West, and is between Western Sambo reef and 9-Foot Stake reef. Unlike many reefs in the Sanctuary, it is not within a Sanctuary P ...
* Molasses Reef * Newfound Harbor Key (reef) * Pacific Reef * Pickles Reef * Rock Key (reef) * Sand Key (reef) * Snapper Ledge (reef) * Sombrero Key (reef) * Tennessee Reef * The Elbow (reef) * Turtle Reef * Western Sambo (reef)


Threats to the reefs

Nearly 25% of all ocean life thrives on coral reefs, making these fragile habitats a necessity to ocean ecosystems. Plant and animal life on coral reefs are quickly being destroyed due to pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Animals known as polyps, which create the fundamental structure of a reef, die from ingesting tiny bits of trash floating throughout the ocean called
microplastics Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a ...
.
Overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting i ...
is also threatening reef fish populations, which feed on the algae that will smother corals. Fluctuating ocean temperatures caused by global warming presents the largest threat to coral reefs. The sudden warming or cooling of the water stresses the corals, causing them to lose their nutrients and turn white, a process known as bleaching. With the destruction of these complex yet fragile ecosystems comes a wide range of global consequences such as extinction of marine species, endangerment to the fishing industries, and severe
coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...
. In common with coral reefs throughout the Caribbean and the world, the Florida Reef exhibits some signs of stress and deterioration. Precht and Miller state that the numbers of Elkhorn and Staghorn corals (''
Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals ...
'' ssp.) are declining to an extent that is unprecedented in several thousand years. Between 1981 and 1986, Staghorn corals declined by 96% at Molasses Reef. Between 1983 and 2000 at Looe Key, Elkhorn corals declined by 93% and Staghorn corals by 98%. A joint reef monitoring program conducted by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...
, Florida Marine Research Institute and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
recorded a loss of 6% to 10% living corals at 40 sampling stations from 1996 to 2000. Elevated temperatures can damage coral reefs, causing
coral bleaching Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae (dinoflagellates that are commonly referred to as al ...
. The first recorded bleaching incident on the Florida Reef was in 1973. Incidents of bleaching have become more frequent in recent decades, in correlation with a rise in
sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mas ...
s. White band disease has also adversely affected corals on the Florida Reef. While hurricanes often can cause localized damage to Elkhorn and Staghorn corals, Precht and Miller state that the severe and widespread loss of those corals on the Florida Reef cannot be attributed to hurricane damage. Other possible causes of the losses of corals on the Florida Reef include
epizootic In epizoology, an epizootic (from Greek: ''epi-'' upon + ''zoon'' animal) is a disease event in a nonhuman animal population analogous to an epidemic in humans. An epizootic may be restricted to a specific locale (an "outbreak"), general (an "epi ...
diseases,
eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...
,
predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
,
sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...
,
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting i ...
,
ship grounding Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In acciden ...
s, anchor dragging, commercial lobster and crab traps moved by storms, pollution, development on the Keys, growing numbers of visitors to the Keys and the reefs and the growth of seaweed on the coral. The long-spined sea urchin ('' Diadema antillarum''), which browses on seaweed on and around reefs, was sharply reduced in numbers on the Florida Reef (and throughout the Caribbean) in the 1980s. While populations of this sea urchin have somewhat recovered elsewhere, its numbers are still very low on most of the Florida Reef, with the exception of the Dry Tortugas. As a consequence, there has been no effective check of the growth of seaweed on reef corals. However, the severe die-off of Elkhorn and Staghorn corals occurred before the die-off of the sea urchins, so that the proliferation of seaweed following the loss of the sea urchins was not the cause of the die-off of the corals, but may be retarding recovery by the corals. Another threat to the Florida Reef is the ongoing rise in sea level. The sea level has risen almost six inches (15 cm) at
Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
since 1913, and one foot (30 cm) since 1850. This rise in sea level increases the volume of water in Florida Bay significantly, and increases the exchange of water between the Bay and the water over the reefs. The lower salinity, higher turbidity and more variable temperature of the water from Florida Bay adversely affects the reefs. A continued rise in sea level would likely intensify the effect. A perceived deterioration of the reefs became a concern in the 1950s. Early attempts to protect the reefs led to the establishment in 1960 of a protected area that became
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida. It includes approximately 70 nautical square miles (240 km²) of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. The park is approximately 25 miles in length ...
. The creation of Biscayne National Monument (which later became Biscayne National Park) in 1968 protected the northern part of the Florida Reef. In 1990 the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was established, bringing all of the Florida reef into federal or state protection.


Human use

Human use of the reefs has grown tremendously in the past century. One measure of the growth is that registrations for recreational boats in Monroe County increased by 1000% from 1964 to 2006. Recreational use of the Florida Reef and surrounding waters is popular and important to the economy of southern Florida, and in particular, of Monroe County. In 2000-2001 artificial and natural reefs in
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
and Monroe County had 28 million person-days of recreational use by residents and tourists, including
scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
, fishing and viewing (as, for example, by
snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...
). These activities generated $4.4 million in sales, generated almost $2 million in local income and provided more than 70,000 full- and part-time jobs. The estimated asset value of the reefs was $8.5 billion. About two-thirds of the activity was related to natural reefs. In Monroe County for the period of June 2000 to May 2001 almost 5.5 million person-days of reef related activities resulted in $504 million in sales, which generated $140 million in income for 10,000 full- and part-time jobs. Almost two-thirds of the activity was by residents, and about half the activity involved fishing, with one-third involving snorkeling and one-sixth scuba diving. In Dade County for the period from June 2000 to May 2001 a little over 6 million person-days of reef related activities resulted in $1,297 million in sales, which generated $614 million in income for 19,000 full- and part-time jobs. The activity was about evenly split between residents and tourists. As in Monroe County, about half the activity involved fishing, with one-third involving snorkeling and one-sixth scuba diving.


Shipwrecks and lighthouses

The Florida Current (which merges with the Antilles Current near the northern end of the barrier reef to form the
Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the Unit ...
) passes close to the Florida Reef through the
Straits of Florida The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between t ...
. Ships began wrecking along the Florida Reef almost as soon as Europeans reached the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. From early in the 16th century Spanish ships returning from the New World to Spain sailed from
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
to catch the Gulf Stream, which meant they passed close to the Florida Reef, with some wrecking on the reefs. In 1622, six ships of the
Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...
, including the ''
Nuestra Señora de Atocha ''Nuestra Señora de Atocha'' ( es, Our Lady of Atocha) was a Spanish treasure galleon and the most widely known vessel of a fleet of ships that sank in a hurricane off the Florida Keys in 1622. At the time of her sinking, ''Nuestra Señora de ...
'', wrecked during a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
in the lower Keys. In 1733, 19 ships of the Spanish treasure fleet wrecked during a hurricane in the middle and upper keys. In the 19th century the Straits became the major route for shipping between the eastern coast of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and ports in the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United St ...
and the western
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
. The combination of heavy shipping and a powerful current flowing close to dangerous reefs made the Florida Reef the site of many wrecks. By the middle of the 19th century ships were wrecking on the Florida Reef at the rate of almost once a week (the collector of customs in Key West reported a rate of 48 wrecks a year in 1848). Between 1848 and 1859 at least 618 ships were wrecked on the Florida Reef. The Assistant United States Coast Surveyor reported that in the period from 1845 through 1849 almost one million (United States) dollars worth of vessels and cargos were lost on the reef. The chief motivation for the Florida Railroad, the first railroad to connect the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida, was to allow goods to be transferred between ships in the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico, thus avoiding the dangerous passage along the Florida Reef. Salvaging wrecks on the reefs was the principal occupation in the Florida Keys through much of the 19th century, helping make Key West the biggest and richest city in Florida for a while. Some of the reefs in the Florida Reef are named after ships that wrecked on them. Fowey Rocks is named after HMS ''Fowey'', which, however, actually wrecked on Ajax Reef. Looe Key is named after HMS ''Looe''. Alligator Reef is named after the USS ''Alligator''. Carysfort Reef is named after HMS ''Carysfort'', which ran aground on the reef, but did not sink. Soon after the United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, it began building
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...
s along the Florida coast. The first lighthouses marking the Florida Reef were the Cape Florida Light, at the northern end of the Reef, the Dry Tortugas Light (on Bush Key), marking the western end of the Reef, and the Key West Light, all first lit in 1825. A
light ship A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...
was placed at Carysfort Reef in 1825, as well. Garden Key Light, also in the Dry Tortugas, was added in 1826, and Sand Key Light (six nautical miles from
Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...
), was added in 1827. Large stretches of the Florida Reef remained unprotected by lighthouses, however. Keeping lights in operation along the Florida Reef proved difficult. The Carysfort Reef light ship was often blown out of position, and one time even onto a reef. The first light ship had to be replaced after just five years due to dry rot. The Cape Florida lighthouse was burned by
Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and ...
in 1836, and was not repaired and re-lit until 1847. The Key West and Sand Key lighthouses were destroyed by a hurricane in 1846. Starting at Carysfort Reef in 1852, skeletal tower lighthouses were built on submerged reefs to place lights as close to the outer edge of the Florida Reef as possible. With the completion of the American Shoal Light in 1880 there were finally navigation lights visible along the full length of the Florida Reef. In order to provide better charts for ships sailing along the Florida Reef, the Florida Keys, including the reef, and the waters to the west of the Keys, including Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay, were surveyed in the 1850s. The
United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...
established a base camp on Key Biscayne in 1849. The
triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
survey was conducted by the U.S. Coast Survey with men detailed from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. In 1855
Alexander Dallas Bache Alexander Dallas Bache (July 19, 1806 – February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Originally an army ...
, Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey, assumed personal direction of the survey. In 1851
Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...
was sent by the U.S. Coast Survey to study the Florida Reef. His report on the reefs was published in 1880.


Notes


References

*Blank, Joan Gill. (1996) ''Key Biscayne.'' Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. *Burnett, Gene. (1991) ''Florida's Past: People and Events That Shaped the State. Volume 3.'' Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. *Langley, Wright and Arva Moore Parks (editors). (1983) "Diary of an Unidentified Land Official, 1855: Key West to Miami." ''Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida.'' Number XLIII. Found a

Accessed December 19, 2010 *Marszalek, D. S., G. Babashoff, Jr., M. R. Noel and D. R. Worley. (1977) "Reef Distribution in South Florida." ''Proceedings, Third International Coral Reef Symposium.'' Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. Found a

Accessed December 18, 2010 *Precht, W. F. and S. L. Miller. (2007) "Ecological Shifts along the Florida Reef Tract: The Past as a Key to the Future." In R. B. Aronson. (Editor) ''Geological Approaches to Coral Reef Ecology.'' Found a

Accessed December 16, 2010 *Turner, Gregg. (2003) ''A Short History of Florida Railroads.'' Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. *Viele, John. (1999) ''The Florida Keys: True Tales of the Perilous Straits.'' Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. *Viele, John. (2001) ''The Florida Keys: The Wreckers.'' Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc.


External links


"Coral reefs in Florida." The Encyclopedia of Earth"Florida's large artificial reef system" CCCarto
{{coord, 25.1, -80.4, display=title Coral reefs of the Florida Keys