Florida Keys

Florida Keys
Coconut palms in Islamorada, Florida in the Florida Keys
The Keys were formed near the edge of the Florida Platform
Geography
LocationFlorida Straits
Coordinates24°40′01″N 81°32′39″W / 24.66694°N 81.54417°W / 24.66694; -81.54417
Area356 km2 (137 sq mi)
Administration
United States
StateFlorida
Demographics
Population82,874 (2020)
Satellite image of the Florida Keys, December 2003

The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago 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 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.

More than 95% of the land area lies in Monroe County, but a small portion extends northeast into Miami-Dade County, such as Totten Key. The total land area is 137.3 square miles (356 km2). At the 2010 census the population was 73,090, with an average density of 532.34 per square mile (205.54/km2),[1] although much of the population is concentrated in a few areas of much higher density, such as the city of Key West, which has 32% of the Keys' total population. The 2014 Census population estimate was 77,136. The 2020 Census population estimate was 82,874.[2]

The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County. The county consists of a section on the mainland which is almost entirely in Everglades National Park, and the Keys islands from Key Largo to Dry Tortugas National Park.

  1. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  2. ^ "Monroe County, Florida; Key West city, Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 7, 2024.

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