Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles 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 west, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. At the nearest point, the southern tip of Key West is just 94 miles from Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 23.5 and 25.5 degrees North latitude, in the subtropics. The climate of the Keys however, is defined as tropical according to Köppen climate classification. More than 95 percent of the land area lies in Monroe County, but a small portion extends northeast into Miami-Dade County, primarily in the city of Islandia, Florida. The total land area is 355.6 km² (137.3 sq mi). As of the 2000 census the population was 79,535, with an average density of 223.66/km² (579.27/sq mi), 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 entire population of the Keys.
The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County, which consists of a section on the mainland which is almost entirely in Everglades National Park, and the Keys islands from Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas.

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Conch Republic
Many of the residents of Key West were immigrants from the Bahamas, known as Conchs (pronounced 'conks') who arrived in increasing numbers after 1830. Many were sons and daughters of Loyalists who fled to the nearest crown soil during the American Revolution. In the 20th century many residents of Key West started referring to themselves as "Conchs", and the term is now generally applied to all residents of Key West. Some residents use the term "Conch" to refer to a person born in Key West, while the term "Fresh Water Conch" refers to a resident not born in Key West but who has lived in Key West for seven years or more. However, the true original meaning of Conch applies only to someone with European ancestry that immigrated from the Bahamas. It is said that when a baby was born, the family would put a conch shell on a pole in front of their home.In 1982 Key West (and the rest of the Florida Keys), briefly declared its "independence" as the Conch Republic in a protest over a United States Border Patrol blockade. This blockade was set up on U.S. 1 where the Northern end of the Overseas Highway meets the mainland at Florida City. This blockade was in response to the Mariel Boatlift. A seventeen mile (27 km) traffic jam ensued while the Border Patrol stopped every car leaving the Keys supposedly searching for illegal aliens attempting to enter the mainland United States. This paralyzed the Florida Keys, which rely heavily on the tourism industry. Flags, T-shirts and other merchandise representing the Conch Republic are still popular souvenirs for visitors to Key West.
What To Do In Key West.

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- FunGifts4All FunGifts4All Sep 13, 2009 @ 10:26 pm
- Love the graphic you used. Great lens
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- roamingrosie roamingrosie May 29, 2009 @ 11:24 am
- The Keys are such a great place to visit! Nice lens!
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- praise praise May 2, 2009 @ 7:59 am
- I love the Keys! Very fortunate to live a few hours away. Great lens, thank you.
Debra
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- HandbagDiva HandbagDiva Feb 25, 2009 @ 9:24 am
- Beautiful photos, I love the Keys! Great work!
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- singaporehosting singaporehosting Feb 15, 2009 @ 6:43 pm
- Lovely travel lens you have! 5 Stars!
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- ZenyarisGallery ZenyarisGallery Feb 8, 2009 @ 4:19 am
- Beautiful lens! Rated 5* and Favorite!
I would love to go to Florida, to visit it! It is on my future project!:) Zenya
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- easyforyouebooks easyforyouebooks Feb 7, 2009 @ 1:55 am
- Great lens looks very inviting 5stars
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- LaurieKristensen LaurieKristensen Feb 2, 2009 @ 3:56 pm
- Love the animations on this lens! ~ Laurie, Get Back at Your Ex
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- gcarone gcarone Feb 2, 2009 @ 5:43 am
- Dear Antony, 5* for this lens, very intresting becouse today I've received one offer for collaborate in some projects in Florida... is this destiny or not?. Thanks, Giacomo
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- rydigga rydigga Jan 31, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
- Hi Anthony, Thanks for joining my fan club. Excellent lens!
Ryan
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- d-artist d-artist Jan 30, 2009 @ 9:51 am
- just booked a vacation to an Island off of Florida(N.Captiva Island)...can't wait to get out of this snow and cold...5*
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- juozapuxasz juozapuxasz Jan 28, 2009 @ 8:56 am
- 5 stars from me. Great lens!
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- lollyj lollyj Jan 27, 2009 @ 7:47 pm
- Thanks for joining my fan club. Great travel lenses in your group!! I'll have to visit all these places vicariously through your lenses. Thanks for the trips!!
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- AffiliateSystems AffiliateSystems Jan 27, 2009 @ 8:28 am
- Definitely need to visit here. :)
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- flipflopnana flipflopnana Jan 26, 2009 @ 8:16 pm
- Great lens, one of my favorite weekend getaways!
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Jimmy Buffett
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