Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Keys, which end with a flourish in the Gulf of Mexico. Key West, the last in the chain, is
the southernmost point in the continental United States.
Incidentally, when the waters of Okeechobee do flood the South Florida plain, they in-
teract with the local grasslands and limestone to create a wilderness unlike any other: the
Everglades. They also fill up the freshwater aquifers that are required to maintain human
existence in the ever-urbanizing Miami area. Today, numerous plans, which seem to fall
prey to many private interest and public bureaucratic roadblocks, are discussed for restor-
ing the original flow of water from Central to South Florida, an act that would revitalize
the Glades and, to some degree, address the water supply needs of Greater Miami.
What really sets Florida apart, though, is that it occupies a subtropical transition zone
between northern temperate and southern tropical climates. This is key to the coast's florid
coral-reef system, the largest in North America, and the key to Florida's attention-getting
collection of surreal swamps, botanical oddities and monstrous critters. The Everglades
gets the most press, and as a Unesco biosphere reserve, World Heritage Site and national
park, this 'river of grass' deserves it.
But the Keys are a crucially important, vital and unique treasure as well. To explore
these islands is to enter genuine jungle while still technically within the 48 contiguous US
states (admittedly, as low as you can get in that 'Lower 48'). The teal and blue waterways
that separate the Keys are as fascinating as the islands themselves; here the water gets so
shallow, you can sometimes wade from Key to Key. Couple this shallow shelf with the
rich sunlight of South Florida and you get one of the world's most productive aquatic bio-
mes.
Green Reads
The Swamp
, Michael Grunwald
Losing It All to Sprawl
, Bill Belleville
Zoo Story
, Thomas French
Green Empire
, Kathryn Ziewitz & June Wiaz
Manatee Insanity
, Craig Pittman
Wildlife
Get outside Miami's concrete jungle and you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd entered a
real one. Alligators prowl the swamps, the USA's only crocodiles nest in the Keys, birds
