The bronze Christ of the Deep statue guarding the coral reef off Key Largo didn't start out under water, but the island itself is thought to have once been there. The Florida Keys are believed to have been coral reefs and shoals that, with glaciers forming to the north, surfaced in receding seas and came to be islands.
Ice ages, scientists say, happen naturally and ever so gradually as the earth orbits the sun and as lands shift, in some instances uniting and in others drifting apart. Now that glaciers are melting -- and, according to some, melting more quickly than anticipated as a result of human activity -- what does that mean for the Florida Keys, where elevations are said to average 4 feet above sea level? Are we drowning these American islands?
About Historic Walking Guides: Florida Keys
Historic Walking Guides: Florida Keys takes readers back in time as they travel off the beaten path from the edge of Florida's mainland to Key West. In Key West, readers can embark upon a series of historic walking tours, each centered around themes such as treasure hunting, commercial fishing, literary luminaries and, of course, two of the best known of all -- Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett. Historic Walking Guides: Florida Keys is available in print through Destinworld Publishing and Amazon.com. It's expected to be in digital format by January.
