Indian Key Pass Ten Thousand Islands Area

The Ten Thousand Islands are a chain of islands and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

s off the coast of

southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

, between Cape Romano (at the south end of

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

) and the mouth of the Lostmans River. Some of the islands are high spots on a

submergent coastline Submergent coastlines or drowned coastlines are stretches along the coast that have been inundated by the sea by a relative rise in sea levels from either isostacy or eustacy. Submergent coastline are the opposite of emergent coastlines, whic ...

. Others were produced by

s growing on

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

bars. Despite the name, the islets in the chain only number in the hundreds.

Geography

The northern part of the Ten Thousand Islands, between Cape Romano and Everglades City, is in the

Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge The Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge is located in Southwest Florida in Collier County, Florida, Collier County, between Marco Island and Everglades City, Florida. The refuge was first established in 1996 and covers 35,000 acres of ...

. The southern part of the Ten Thousands Islands, south of Everglades City, is in

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...

. The 99-mile-long (159 km) Wilderness Waterway begins at Everglades City and ends at

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

at the southern tip of the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

peninsula. Administrative control of the islands is split between

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...

and Monroe County.

Archaeology

The Ten Thousand Islands were used and occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years. Evidence of former living sites can be found under as much as four feet (1.2 m) of water. A number of

shell ring Shell rings are archaeological sites with curved shell middens completely or partially surrounding a clear space. The rings were sited next to estuaries that supported large populations of shellfish, usually oysters. Shell rings have been reported ...

s and other shell complexes have been identified in or adjacent to the Ten Thousand Islands. The Horr's Island archaeological site at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands was occupied year-round 3,500 years ago, and other sites are presumed to have been inundated by a rise in sea level. The material culture of the Indians living in the Ten Thousand Islands was distinctive enough to be classified as, at least, a sub-area of the

Glades culture The Glades culture is an archaeological culture in southernmost Florida that lasted from about 500 BCE until shortly after European contact. Its area included the Everglades, the Florida Keys, the Atlantic coast of Florida north through present-day ...

area.

Demography

Almost all of the Ten Thousand Islands are currently uninhabited. The largest, Chokoloskee Island, which is connected to Everglades City by a causeway, has about 400 permanent residents. Other islands have been sporadically inhabited in the 19th and 20th centuries by individuals or families.

Recreation

Some of the Ten Thousand Islands are suitable for overnight visits, as dictated by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

. Since this is a wilderness area where wind, weather and lack of fresh water can become threatening, the Wildlife Service recommends only seasoned canoeists and sea kayakers attempt the trip. Part of the archipelago lies within

. The following islands are officially designated camping sites: * Hog Key * Turkey Key * New Turkey Key * Mormon Key * Pavilion Key * Rabbit Key * Jewel Key * Picnic Key * Tiger Key

Dark skies recreation

Ten Thousand Islands archipelago is among the best and last remaining dark skies sites in coastal Southwest Florida. Most notable is Pavilion Key that lies 11 miles south of Everglades City and lacks any urban development to the south of it. The pristine nature and low south latitude makes the area among the best and unique spots for stargazing and Milky Way

astrophotography Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...

.in Dark Site Finder
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References

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External links

Usgs.gov: Ten Thousand Islands and Rookery BayTen Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge Profile
{{authority control Islands of Florida Everglades National Park Nature reserves in Florida Islands of Collier County, Florida Uninhabited islands of Monroe County, Florida