Monroe County is a county in the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West Micropolitan Statistical Area. Over 99.9% of the county's population lives on the Florida Keys. The mainland, which is part of the Everglades, comprises 87% of the county's land area and is virtually uninhabited with only 17 people in total.
Islamorada is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands—Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Plantation Key—in the Florida Keys.
Tavernier is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States on Key Largo, the largest island in the upper Florida Keys. Tavernier's population was 2,530 at the 2020 census.
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located 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. At the nearest point, the southern part of Key West is just 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.
The Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record in terms of pressure, and tied with Hurricane Dorian in 2019 for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane by maximum sustained winds, with winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). It was also the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record until Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, the Labor Day hurricane was one of four Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the contiguous United States, along with Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Michael in 2018. In addition, it was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, behind Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Long Key is an island in the middle Florida Keys. Long Key was called Cayo Víbora by early Spanish explorers, a reference to the shape of the island, which resembles a snake with its jaws open, rather than to its denizens. The city of Layton is located on Long Key. The 965-acre (3.9 km2) state park (3.9 km²) was dedicated October 1, 1969.
The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.
Sea Base, formerly known as Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, is a high adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in the Florida Keys. Its counterparts are the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico, the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases in Ely, Minnesota as well as Manitoba and Ontario in Canada, and The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve near the New River Gorge National Park in southern West Virginia.
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys, United States, located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75–78.
Plantation Key is an island in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on U.S. 1, between Key Largo and Windley Key.
Plantation Key, Florida is a former census-designated place on Plantation Key in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located just South of the Tavernier bridge and North of the Snake Creek bridge and was reported to have a population of 4,405 in 1990. It became part of the Village of Islamorada when the latter incorporated in 1997.
Windley Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United States. U.S. 1 crosses it at approximately mile markers 84–85.5, between Plantation Key and Upper Matecumbe Key. All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated.
The San Felipe is a historic shipwreck near Islamorada, Florida, United States. It is located east of Lower Matecumbe Key and south of the wreck of the San Pedro. On August 11, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The LaBranche Fishing Camp is a historic site in Islamorada, Florida, United States. On May 9, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Florida Keys Council of the Arts is a leading cultural organization in the Florida Keys, and serves the population from Key Largo to Key West. A non-profit local arts agency, it makes grants, operates the Monroe County Art in Public Places program, sponsors seminars, and manages the on-line cultural calendar for the region. It also manages the County's Cultural Umbrella grants process, under the Tourism Development Council and serves as a leading advocate for cultural tourism on lower Florida. In 1998, the Florida Keys Council of the Arts was designated by the Board of Monroe County Commissioners as the area's Local Arts Agency as provided by Florida Statute 286.011.
Monroe County School District is a public school district serving the residents of Monroe County, Florida. The district's administrative offices are headquartered in Key West, Florida, United States, with school sites located throughout the Florida Keys from Key West to Key Largo. The district provides educational services for students enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade and educational opportunities for adult learners enrolled through adult education programs.
Lower Matecumbe Beach is a neighborhood within the village of Islamorada in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on the southwestern half of Lower Matecumbe Key.
Matecumbe is a neighborhood within the village of Islamorada in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on the island of Upper Matecumbe Key.
Tea Table Key also known as "Terra's Key" is an island in the upper Florida Keys.
