Images from Biscayne National Park.
April 22 - 29, 2003
Late in April, Scott checked out Biscayne National Park. The last longest
remaining mangrove forest is contained within the park's boundaries as
are 40 of Florida's Keys. There are beautiful clear waters and living
coral reefs in the park as well. Evidence of man's existence in the area
tracks all the way back 10,000 years.
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Here is a small area of the 14 mile long mangrove forest. The mangroves
are able to extract fresh water from salt water, allowing them to flourish
where other plants would die. Mangrove trees act as a natural filtering
system as well as providing food, shelter and breeding habitat for huge
numbers of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles. Prior to man's encroachment,
mangrove forests thrived all over our Florida coastline.
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This lamphouse on Boca Chita Key is one of ten historic buildings that were recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings preserve the feel of typical resort style from the 1930s. Nearby Elliot Key is the location of the earliest pioneering homestead in this area from the late 19th century.
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Another beautiful shot of the mangroves. Imagine what the first settlers
in the area would have seen over a hundred years ago... you're right,
they would have seen more mangroves. Unfortunately, most of the evidence
of man's early life in the keys has been destroyed by residential and
industrial developement. There are however sites on the keys and in the
waters indicating settlements back to 1000 A.D. Five miles north of the
park was a major Tequesta village occupied approximately 2000 years ago.
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