Ragged Keys are small islands north of the upper

Florida Keys 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 south of Miami, and e ...

. They are located in

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

, just north of

Sands Key Sands Key is an island north of the upper Florida Keys in Biscayne National Park. It is in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located in lower Biscayne Bay, between Elliott Key and Boca Chita Key. History Earlier names for the island were "Las ...

, and are part of

Biscayne National Park Biscayne National Park is an American national park located south of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and t ...

. Earlier names for these islands were "Knox Island", "Laurence Island", "Los Paradisos", "Mascaras", "Mucaras", "Mucasas", "Pollock Island" and "Soldiers Island".

History

Bernard Romans, who visited these keys in 1774, wrote that these were "Seven rocks called Mascaras", which he said had been "Ill copied on English charts as Mucares". The northernmost of these islands, Ragged Key #1 has been inhabited in the past. The remains of an old wooden dock are in hazardous condition. The deteriorated concrete wall encircles majority of the island. The remains of previous development are concrete pillars and what used to be a cistern and looks like a broken concrete tank.

References

Islands of the Florida Keys Uninhabited islands of Miami-Dade County, Florida Biscayne National Park Islands of Florida {{MiamiDadeCountyFL-geo-stub