Looe Key is a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

located within the

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys. It includes the Florida Reef, the only barrier coral reef in North America and the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world. It also has ...

. It lies to the south of

Big Pine Key Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

. This reef is within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). Part of Looe Key is designated as "Research Only," an area which protects some of the patch reefs landward of the main reef. The reef is named after , which ran aground on the reef and sank in 1744. In August 1994, RV ''Columbus Iselin'', a

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

owned by the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

, ran aground on Looe Key and damaged approximately of living

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

and a larger area of reef framework. In 1997, the University paid $3.76 million in natural resource damage claims to

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 ...

(NOAA). In 1999, a restoration project involving placement of

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 ...

boulders, pouring of concrete, and reintroduction of

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

species was undertaken by NOAA and its subcontractors.Columbus Iselin Coral Reef Restoration Project
(NOAA), Retrieved 10 January 2011

Gallery

File:Looe Key 1979 1VEOR00110046.jpg, Air photo of Looe Key in 1979. File:Staghorn_Looe_Key_2010.jpg,

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

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'') alive at Looe Key in July 2010. File:Elkhorn_Looe_Key_2010.jpg, Endangered

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 habita ...

(''Acropora palmata'') alive at Looe Key in July 2010.

References

NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Maps, Florida Keys East

NOAA Navigational Chart 11445

External links

* Barbara H. Lidz, Christopher D. Reich, and Eugene A. Shinn, ''Systematic Mapping of Bedrock and Habitats along the Florida Reef Tract—Central Key Largo to Halfmoon Shoal (Gulf of Mexico)''. USGS Professional Paper 1751

Franko's Florida Keys Dive & Guide Map

{{Corals Coral reefs of the Florida Keys