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Geology and hydrogeology of the Florida Keys

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https://doi.org/10.1016/S0070-4571(04)80027-X

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the geology and hydrogeology of the Florida Keys, and focuses on the islands formed of Pleistocene limestone. These islands, which are crossed when driving from Miami to Key West, are typically regarded as "the Florida Keys." The outstanding and fragile character of ecosystems on and around the Florida Keys has prompted State and Federal efforts to protect and preserve the remaining public portions of the region. The Florida Keys were largely ignored during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, although the waters just offshore provided a major shipping thoroughfare to and from the New World. The Florida Keys are now recognized as one of the great recreational and environmental resources of the United States. The islands are outposts of a laid-back, tropical resort culture that has as its foundation warmth and clear water. A significant part of the attraction is fishing, diving, and boating around the area's coral reefs, which the islands protect. But the reefs were not always so highly valued. The Florida Keys that have protected the reefs for millennia, may now be the source of the agents that may accomplish what Agassiz thought was beyond man's power a century ago.
Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Geology and hydrogeology of the Florida Keys
Series number 54
DOI 10.1016/S0070-4571(04)80027-X
Year Published 1997
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Description 32 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Other Government Series
Larger Work Title Geology and hydrogeology of carbonate islands
First page 217
Last page 248
Country United States
State Florida
Other Geospatial Florida Keys
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