Florida Keys were once like Pennekamp Park: Under water

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.

Happy Anniversary, Pennekamp Park

There was a time, historians say, when trucks could be seen hauling piles of precious coral out of the Florida Keys, where one of the most productive coral reefs spans Biscayne National Park off Miami to the Dry Tortugas west of Key West. That began to change in December 1963, when John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was established as a means of preserving the reef. Pennekamp Park is now part of the much more expansive Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. On Saturday, Dec. 11, admission to the park is free as it celebrates its 50th anniversary with special exhibits and activities. It's named for the late John Pennekamp, a former Miami newspaper editor who helped secure the land for it. Most of its sites, however, are beneath the sea. They include:

~ The bronze Christ of the Deep statue, a replica of Italy's Christ of the Abyss that was an Italian dive group's gift to the Underwater Society of America and the society's gift to the park.

~ The City of Washington, a 360-foot passenger and cargo vessel that survived the 1898 Havana Harbor explosion of the battleship USS Maine and, years later, grounded on the coral reef and sank.

~ The 510-foot landing ship dock, Spiegel Grove, which landed on its side after being intentionally scuttled in 2002 and was then found righted after Hurricane Dennis passed through in 2005.

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.

About Historic Walking Guides: Florida Keys

Beyond stylish Miami’s southern edge, coral forests and planes are believed to have surfaced from vast waters and, with help from Midwest Wisconsin, came to form sultry islands with a rich and enchanting past. On and around the mangrove-fringed isles, pirates plundered passing vessels, rum runners slipped in illicit booze and treasure hunters reaped wealth from the belly of commanding seas.

These are the Florida Keys -- more than 800 in all. Some 30 or so are united by bridges, the Gulf of Mexico on one side, the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Many people visit these American islands to escape frigid winters. Few realize that a warm waterway borne between Key West and Cuba prevents them from having to endure permanent winters.

Historic Wallking Guides: Florida Keys takes readers back in time and off the beaten path from Homestead and Florida City to Key West and then on a series of themed walks throughout the southernmost American City. The guidebook is available through Destinworld Publishing and on Amazon.com. This blog is designed to keep readers up to date, and your comments and updates are welcome.