KEY Facts (Get it?!)

• Florida keys are made up of a string of tropical islands stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of the U.S. state of Florida, between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico

• There are approximately 1,700 islands

• The total land area of the Florida Keys is 137.3 square miles (356 sq km)

• The Keys are divided into five regions: Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine and the Lower Keys, and Key West

• The Florida Keys were discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, and over the centuries has been the host of many historic events

• You can fly from Miami to Key West in 45 minutes if you are in a hurry, but if you want one of the more memorable automobile odysseys, drive the Overseas Highway across a 113-mile chain of coral and limestone islands connected by 42 bridges, one of them seven miles long

• Florida keys are known for sports fishing, boating, scuba diving, seafood, famous key lime pie, local artists and of course, relaxing on the beach

• Before the arrival of Europeans, the Keys were inhabited by Tequesta and Calusa Native Americans

• Key West is the most populated city in the keys. It is also the southern most city in the continental USA and is actually nearer to Havana, Cuba than to Miami, Florida

• Mitten cats have six toes, and their origin can be traced back to the Keys. The legendary Ernest Hemingway was rumored to have received a mitten cat on his voyage through the Keys. Hemingway’s house and museum are home to a collection of mitten cats.

The Florida Reef

Located in the Florida Keys, it is the only living coral barrier in the continental United States. The Florida Reef stretches from Key Biscayne through the Dry Tortugas, making it one of the largest barrier reef systems in the World.

The Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail
The Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail is a line of nine historic underwater shipwrecks and artificial reefs extending from Key Largo to Key West and maintained by the sanctuary

The Keys Broken Down

• Key Largo is regarded as the Dive Capital of the World and is home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, America’s first underwater preserve.

• Islamorada is known as the Sport Fishing Capital of the World, where backcountry sport fishing and saltwater fly-fishing were pioneered. 

• Marathon is famous for the Seven Mile Bridge (actually 6.79 miles long), one of the longest segmental bridges in the world. Key Marathon is home to the Turtle Hospital

• Big Pine Key in the Lower Florida Keys is the center of a national refuge for miniature Key deer. The species has come back from near-extinction to a thriving population. 

• Key West has been home to such literary greats as Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, who wrote some of their best-known works while living on the island.