Biscayne National Park

Area

172,971 acres

Established

June 28, 1980

Recreation visits

486,567 / yr

State

Florida

Highest ground

About 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) on Elliott Key

Lowest point

Below sea level; nearly the entire park is underwater

Seven-day outlook at the park's reference point (25.491, -80.210). Elevation changes everything in the mountains — expect colder, windier and wetter conditions on high ground.

Landmarks

• Biscayne BayCoastA shallow subtropical lagoon of seagrass meadows that serves as a nursery for fish, lobster and shrimp.
• Convoy PointCoastThe mainland headquarters area, with the visitor center and a jetty walk along the mangrove shore.
• Elliott KeyIslandThe park's largest island, a long strip of tropical hardwood hammock on fossil coral rock.
• Boca Chita KeyIslandA small key with a decorative lighthouse built in the 1930s by the industrialist Mark Honeywell.
• Sands KeyIslandOne of the larger undeveloped keys, fringed by mangroves and shallow flats.
• Ragged KeysIslandA cluster of tiny islets at the northern end of the chain.
• Soldier KeyIslandThe northernmost of the true Florida Keys, where the Key Largo Limestone first reaches the surface.
• StiltsvilleAreaA handful of historic houses on pilings in the bay shoals, begun in the 1930s.
• Fowey Rocks LightCoastAn iron-screwpile lighthouse on the reef whose light stands 110 feet above the water.
• Adams KeyIslandA small key at Caesar Creek, once home to an exclusive fishing club.
• Porgy KeyIslandA tiny mangrove key tied to the Jones family, pioneer Black landowners of the islands.
• Old Rhodes KeyIslandThe park's second-largest island, a quiet mangrove and hammock key.
• Totten KeyIslandA mangrove-rimmed key at the southern end of the park's island chain.
• Jones LagoonCoastA shallow, protected lagoon between keys, prized by paddlers for rays, sharks and wading birds.
• Long Arsenicker KeyIslandOne of the Arsenicker Keys in the southern bay, important nesting grounds for water birds.

The rocks

• Key Largo LimestoneLate Pleistocene, about 125,000 to 75,000 years
  A fossil coral reef 69 to 200 feet thick that forms Elliott Key and the keys to the south.
• Miami LimestoneLate Pleistocene
  An oolitic limestone laid down in lagoon waters, forming the Atlantic Coastal Ridge on the mainland.
• Modern Florida Reef tractHolocene
  Living coral reefs growing on the older limestone platform east of the keys.

• 445vascular plant species recorded

• Mangrove forestMainland shoreline and key edges
  Red, black and white mangroves protect the shore from storms and shelter juvenile fish; Biscayne holds one of the longest remaining stretches of mangrove on Florida's east coast.
• Biscayne Bay seagrass lagoonShallow bay, mostly a few feet to about 10 ft deep
  Meadows of turtle grass and manatee grass feed manatees and sea turtles and nurture young snapper, grouper and lobster.
• Tropical hardwood hammockHigher ground on Elliott Key and other keys
  Dense West Indian forest of gumbo limbo, mahogany and stoppers, habitat for rare plants and butterflies.
• Coral reefOffshore, east of the keys
  Patch reefs and bank reefs of stony corals, sponges and sea fans support hundreds of species of reef fish.
• Coastal strand and rocky shoreOcean-facing edges of the keys
  Salt-tolerant shrubs, vines and succulents grow on exposed coral rock and small beaches.

Trees

• Red mangroveRhizophora mangleStands on arching prop roots at the water's edge, with pencil-like propagules that sprout while still on the tree.
• Black mangroveAvicennia germinansSends up finger-like breathing roots through the mud behind the red mangroves.
• White mangroveLaguncularia racemosaGrows on higher ground and excretes salt through small glands on its leaves.
• ButtonwoodConocarpus erectusA mangrove associate of the upper shoreline with button-like fruit.
• Gumbo limboBursera simarubaNicknamed the tourist tree for its peeling red bark, a hammock landmark.
• West Indian mahoganySwietenia mahagoniA prized tropical hardwood that reaches its northern limit in South Florida.
• Florida strangler figFicus aureaStarts life in another tree's branches and slowly envelops its host.
• Pigeon plumCoccoloba diversifoliaA common hammock tree whose fruit feeds white-crowned pigeons.
• SatinleafChrysophyllum oliviformeLeaves glint coppery-gold underneath when stirred by the breeze.
• MasticSideroxylon foetidissimumA tall hammock tree with hard, heavy wood once used in shipbuilding.
• Florida fishpoison treePiscidia piscipulaIts bark was once used to stun fish, and its pink blossoms feed pollinators.
• Florida thatch palmThrinax radiataA slender native fan palm of coastal hammocks.

Wildflowers, shrubs & other plants

• Turtle grassThalassia testudinumThe dominant seagrass of the bay, forming broad underwater meadows.
• Manatee grassSyringodium filiformeA seagrass with round, spaghetti-like blades grazed by manatees.
• ShoalweedHalodule wrightiiA pioneering seagrass that colonizes shallow, disturbed flats.
• Buccaneer palmPseudophoenix sargentiiConsidered the rarest native palm in Florida, with a surviving population in the park.
• Florida semaphore cactusOpuntia corallicolaAn endangered cactus with one of its last remaining populations protected here.
• Sea grapeCoccoloba uviferaA salt-tolerant shrub of the shore with round leathery leaves and grape-like fruit.
• SaltwortBatis maritimaA succulent that forms mats along salty mudflats and mangrove edges.
• Sea purslaneSesuvium portulacastrumA trailing, fleshy-leaved plant of beaches and salt flats.
• Bay cedarSuriana maritimaA gray-green shrub of coral rock shores.
• Railroad vineIpomoea pes-capraeA beach morning glory that stabilizes sand with long runners.
• Barbed-wire cactusAcanthocereus tetragonusA sprawling, spiny cactus of coastal hammock edges.
• Simpson's applecactusHarrisia simpsoniiA rare, night-blooming cactus of the Keys.
• Cardinal airplantTillandsia fasciculataAn epiphytic bromeliad perched on hammock trees.
• Florida butterfly orchidEncyclia tampensisA fragrant epiphytic orchid that blooms on branches in the hammocks.

• 24mammals
• 229birds
• 31reptiles
• 8amphibians
• 547fish

Mammals

• West Indian manateeTrichechus manatusGrazes the seagrass meadows of the bay, especially in cooler months.
• Bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusFrequently seen in the bay and channels.
• Common raccoonProcyon lotorForages along mangrove shores on the keys.
• BobcatLynx rufusA secretive hunter of mainland and island hammocks.
• Marsh rabbitSylvilagus palustrisA small, dark rabbit comfortable swimming through wetlands.
• Florida bonneted batEumops floridanusAn endangered bat found only in South Florida.
• Brazilian free-tailed batTadarida brasiliensisA swift insect-hunting bat of the coast.
• Northern river otterLutra canadensisUses mangrove creeks and canals along the mainland shore.
• Gray foxUrocyon cinereoargenteusOccurs in wooded upland edges near the mainland.
• White-tailed deerOdocoileus virginianusOccasionally seen on the mainland portions of the park.

Birds

• Brown pelicanPelecanus occidentalisPlunge-dives for fish across the bay.
• Magnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensHangs motionless on long, angular wings high above the keys.
• Double-crested cormorantPhalacrocorax auritusDries its wings on channel markers and mangrove branches.
• Great blue heronArdea herodiasStalks the flats, including the all-white great white heron form of South Florida.
• Reddish egretEgretta rufescensDances across shallow water with wings spread to herd fish.
• Roseate spoonbillPlatalea ajajaA pink wader that sweeps its spoon-shaped bill through shallow water.
• Wood storkMycteria americanaA large wading bird that forages in mangrove shallows.
• OspreyPandion haliaetusNests on channel markers and dead trees near the water.
• White-crowned pigeonPatagioenas leucocephalaA Caribbean pigeon that feeds on fruit in the tropical hammocks.
• Mangrove cuckooCoccyzus minorA shy, masked cuckoo of dense mangroves.
• Black-whiskered vireoVireo altiloquusA Caribbean summer visitor singing from mangroves and hammocks.
• Green heronButorides virescensA small, crouching heron of mangrove roots.
• Least ternSterna antillarumA tiny tern that plunges for small fish in summer.
• Belted kingfisherCeryle alcyonA rattling winter visitor perched over channels.

Reptiles & amphibians

• American crocodileCrocodylus acutusA once-endangered crocodile whose numbers have rebounded in South Florida's coastal waters.
• Green sea turtleChelonia mydasGrazes seagrass in the bay and around the reef.
• Loggerhead sea turtleCaretta carettaA big-headed sea turtle that forages over the bay bottom and reef.
• Hawksbill sea turtleEretmochelys imbricataA critically endangered turtle that feeds on sponges on the reef.
• Mangrove diamondback terrapinMalaclemys terrapinA brackish-water turtle with ornate shell patterns.
• Eastern indigo snakeDrymarchon coraisThe longest native snake in the United States, a threatened species.
• Florida reef geckoSphaerodactylus notatusOne of North America's smallest lizards, living in leaf litter on the keys.
• Cuban treefrogOsteopilus septentrionalisAn invasive frog that preys on native frogs.

Fish

• TarponMegalops atlanticusA silver giant of the flats and channels, famous for its leaping fights.
• BonefishAlbula vulpesA wary flats fish that anglers stalk in shallow water.
• Goliath grouperEpinephelus itajaraA massive, fully protected grouper that lingers around wrecks, ledges and mangrove edges.
• Gray snapperLutjanus griseusJuveniles grow up in mangroves and seagrass before moving to the reef.
• Great barracudaSphyraena barracudaA curious, toothy predator that often shadows snorkelers.
• Rainbow parrotfishScarus guacamaiaA large reef grazer that depends on mangroves as a nursery.
• Blue parrotfishScarus coeruleusScrapes algae from reef rock, producing fine sand.
• French angelfishPomacanthus paruA black-and-gold reef fish often seen in pairs.
• Queen angelfishHolacanthus ciliarisA dazzling blue and yellow angelfish of coral heads.
• Nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumA docile bottom-dwelling shark resting under ledges.
• Southern stingrayDasyatis americanaGlides over sand patches in the bay and near the reef.
• Mangrove rivulusRivulus marmoratusA tiny fish of mangrove crab burrows that can survive out of water for weeks.

Insects & other invertebrates

• Fire coralMillepora alcicornisA branching hydrozoan that looks like coral and stings on contact.
• Bladed fire coralMillepora complanataForms upright, blade-like plates on shallow reef crests.

Species totals are the park's certified NPSpecies checklist (occurrence: present).

• AcadiaMaine
• CongareeSouth Carolina
• Dry TortugasFlorida
• EvergladesFlorida
• Great Smoky MountainsNorth Carolina, Tennessee
• Mammoth CaveKentucky
• New River GorgeWest Virginia
• ShenandoahVirginia

← Big Bend National Park Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park →

Sources: www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · irmaservices.nps.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · Official NPS site