1.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
2.
Florida Keys
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The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost portion of the continental United States. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, at the nearest point, the southern part of Key West is just 90 miles from Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 23.5 and 25.5 degrees North latitude, the climate of the Keys is defined as tropical savanna according to Köppen climate classification. More than 95 percent of the area lies in Monroe County. The total land area is 137.3 square miles, the US Census population estimate for 2014 is 77,136. The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County, the county consists of a section on the mainland which is almost entirely in Everglades National Park, and the Keys islands from Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas. The Keys were originally inhabited by Calusa and Tequesta Native Americans, de León named the islands Los Martires, as they looked like suffering men from a distance. Key is derived from the Spanish word cayo, meaning small island, for many years, Key West was the largest town in Florida, and it grew prosperous on wrecking revenues. The isolated outpost was located for trade with Cuba and the Bahamas. Improved navigation led to shipwrecks, and Key West went into a decline in the late nineteenth century. The Keys were long accessible only by water and this changed with the completion of Henry Flaglers Overseas Railway in the early 1910s. Flagler, a developer of Floridas Atlantic coast, extended his Florida East Coast Railway down to Key West with an ambitious series of over-sea railroad trestles. Three hurricanes disrupted the project in 1906,1909, and 1910, one of the worst hurricanes to strike the U. S. made landfall near Islamorada in the Upper Keys on Labor Day, Monday, September 2. Winds were estimated to have gusted to 200 mph, raising a storm more than 17.5 feet above sea level that washed over the islands. More than 400 people were killed, though some place the number of deaths at more than 600. The Labor Day Hurricane is one of three hurricanes to make landfall at Category 5 strength on the U. S. coast since reliable weather records began. The other storms were Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Andrew, in 1935, new bridges were under construction to connect a highway through the entire Keys. Hundreds of World War I veterans working on the roadway as part of a government relief program were housed in non-reinforced buildings in three camps in the Upper Keys
3.
Monroe County, Florida
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Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 73,090 and its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys, only 24 people live on the mainland. Monroe County comprises the Key West, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, although 87% of the countys land area is on the mainland, that region is part of the Everglades and is virtually uninhabited. Over 99% of the population lives on the Florida Keys. Monroe County was created in 1823 and it was named for James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, who served from 1817 to 1825. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 3,738 square miles. It is the largest county in Florida by total area, more than 99 percent of the Monroe County population lives in the island chain known as the Florida Keys. The area, officially named Cape Sable Census County Division, is virtually uninhabited, as of the Census of 2000, this area had 86.9 percent of the countys land area, but only 0.075 percent of its population. The Census Bureau defines this area as Census Tract 9701 of Monroe County, the only three populated places appearing on detailed maps and in the USGS geographic name database are Flamingo, Pinecrest, and Trail City. Flamingo, located on the south coast and at the end of State Road 9336, is the location of the Flamingo Lodge,11 km northeast on the highway is the West Lake Trail. Pinecrest, located in the interior of the county on Loop Road. Trail City is 6 km west of Pinecrest on Loop Road, Loop Road can be found on most maps as CR94, although the roadway no longer has a numbered designation and is now managed by the National Park Service. Between the south coast of Floridas mainland and the Florida Keys is Florida Bay, which is encompassed by the Everglades National Park and contains numerous islets or keys. Collier County – north Miami-Dade County – east and north As of the census of 2000, there were 79,589 people,35,086 households, the population density was 80 people per square mile. There were 51,617 housing units at a density of 52 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 90. 65% White,4. 77% Black or African American,0. 38% Native American,0. 83% Asian,0. 04% Pacific Islander,1. 55% from other races, and 1. 78% from two or more races. 15. 77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, in 2005 Monroe County had a population that was 75. 1% non-Hispanic white,17. 7% Latino,5. 4% African-American and 1. 1% Asian
4.
U.S. Route 1 in Florida
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U. S. Highway 1 in Florida runs 545 miles along the states east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne, and south of Folkston. US1 was designated through Florida when the United States Numbered Highway System was established in 1926, the road is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation. From its national terminus in Key West, US1 carries the Overseas Highway—the Keys main highway north to the mainland. North of Jacksonville, US1 curves inland towards the St. Marys River as it enters Georgia. /US17 in Jacksonville to the Georgia state line near Boulogne, among other designations, US1 is a designated Blue Star Memorial Highway along its entire route through the state. Markers are placed at locations, including one in Rockledge. US1 officially begins at the Monroe County courthouse at the intersection of Whitehead and Fleming Streets and it proceeds south as Whitehead Street, a two-laned street, until the intersection with Truman Avenue, which takes it east through central Key West. Truman Avenue becomes North Roosevelt Boulevard about a mile east, and remains so until leaving the island, the road follows the northern shore of this section of Key West, then after curving southward, it meets State Road A1A head-on at a T-intersection before continuing east. This intersection also marks the terminus of the Overseas Highway. The highway expands to four lanes as it crosses the Bahia Honda Bridge, after Little Duck Key, US1 enters Knights Key, Boot Key, Key Vaca and the town of Marathon via the Seven Mile Bridge, thus leaving the lower Keys. US1 runs through Marathon as a four-laned road, after Key Vaca, the road becomes two-laned once more and runs through Fat Deer Key, where it forms the northern boundary of the city of Key Colony Beach. It then continues wholly in Marathon through Long Point Key, Crawl Key, the road then crosses to Little Conch Key and then Conch Key, both part of the Duck Key district. US1 then crosses to and traverses Long Key, which is mostly unincorporated except for the city of Layton, the road then reaches Craig Key, and then the village of Islamorada including Lower Matecumbe Key, Tea Table Key, Upper Matecumbe Key and Windley Key. US1 crosses a drawbridge onto Plantation Key, where it expands to four lanes, immediately the Overseas Highway enters Tavernier, where it temporarily splits into a pair of one-way roads through the community. Soon the road enters the community of Key Largo, which features another pair of one-way roads. Signage approaching the intersection directs northbound motorists to take this route if the lights on it are flashing. US1 swings to the northwest, forms the boundary of North Key Largo. After crossing the Jewfish Creek Bridge and travelling along Cross Key, US1 crosses Manatee Creek, along with the Miami-Dade County boundary, for the first 14 miles in Miami-Dade County, US1 is a divided two-lane road bordering the Everglades National Park on the west. It is named South Dixie Highway from the county line to Miami and its first major intersection is with the north end of Card Sound Road south of Florida City
5.
Overseas Highway
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The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile highway carrying U. S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed, many exotic animals such as the American Crocodile and Key Deer inhabit the tropical islands of the Florida Keys. The concept of an Overseas Highway began with the Miami Motor Club in 1921, the Florida land boom of the 1920s was underway and the club wanted to attract tourists to easily reached fishing areas, which could only be reached by boat or train at the time. The land boom also attracted real estate interests who sought vehicular access to the upper keys where there were thousands of acres of undeveloped land, the completion of the railroad further proved a highway through the keys was feasible. Construction on the original Overseas Highway, designated State Road 4A, officially opening for traffic on January 25,1928, the original highway existed in two segments at its greatest extent. One segment ran from the mainland via Card Sound Road to Key Largo and extended as far as Lower Matecumbe Key, an automobile ferry service connected the 41 mile gap between Lower Matecumbe and No Name Keys. State Road 4A mostly ran alongside of the Overseas Railroad in the keys but in the lower keys, it followed a much different path than the railroad. The ferry landing on No Name Key was located at the end of what is now Watson Boulevard, on Little Torch Key, it turned south and rejoined the railroad. From the Saddlebunch Keys, State Road 4A crossed onto Geiger Key, continuing along what is now Geiger Road, on Boca Chica Key, it followed the shoreline south of Naval Air Station Key Wests airstrip to Boca Chica Beach before crossing to Stock Island. On Stock Island, it followed Maloney Avenue and MacDonald Avenue where it rejoined the Overseas Railroad heading into Key West, most of the State Road 4A bridges in the Lower Keys were of wooden construction and had been in use by the early 1920s. By 1931, the ferries would service a 13-mile road built through Marathon on the Vaca Keys with terminals at Hog. In 1933, the legislature created the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District to seek federal funding to extend the roadways. Hundreds of disgruntled World War I veterans seeking early payment of wartime bonuses were employed for construction on the roadway, Construction on a bridge connecting Lower Matecumbe Key and Long Key was already underway when the Category 5 Labor Day Hurricane struck Islamorada on September 2,1935. The hurricane caused damage throughout the area and destroyed much of the Overseas Railroad in the upper keys. Of the over 400 fatalities from the hurricane, more than half were veterans and their deaths caused anger and charges of mismanagement that led to a Congressional investigation. Just west of Lower Matecumbe Key at Mile Marker 73 on the current highway, eight concrete bridge piers, the dredged island is now known as Veterans Key and the piers remain as a tribute to the veterans with a memorial plaque on Craig Key. After the hurricane, the Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the damaged sections of the Overseas Railroad, seizing a rare opportunity, the state purchased the railroads entire right of way and remaining infrastructure for a price of $640,000
6.
Miami-Dade County, Florida
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Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U. S. state of Florida. It is the southeasternmost county on the U. S. mainland, according to a 2015 census report, the county had a population of 2,693,117, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in the United States. It is also Floridas third-largest county in terms of land area, Miami-Dade County is included in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is home to 34 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas, southern Miami-Dade County includes the Redland and Homestead areas, which make up the agricultural economy of Miami. Agricultural Redland makes up one third of Miami-Dade Countys inhabited land area, and is sparsely populated. The western portion of the county extends into the Everglades National Park and is populated only by a Miccosukee tribal village, East of the mainland in Biscayne Bay is also Biscayne National Park and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves. The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region came from about 12,000 years ago, the first inhabitants settled on the banks of the Miami River, with the main villages on the northern banks. The Tequesta Indians fished, hunted, and gathered the fruit and roots of plants for food and they buried the small bones of the deceased with the rest of the body, and put the larger bones in a box for the village people to see. The Tequesta are credited with making the Miami Circle, Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit the area in 1513 by sailing into Biscayne Bay. His journal records that he reached Chequescha, a varianth of Tequesta and it is unknown whether he came ashore or made contact with the natives. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and his men made the first recorded landing when they visited the Tequesta settlement in 1566 while looking for Avilés missing son, shipwrecked a year earlier. Spanish soldiers led by Father Francisco Villarreal built a Jesuit mission at the mouth of the Miami River a year later, after the Spaniards left, the Tequesta Indians were left to fend themselves from European-introduced diseases like smallpox. By 1711, the Tequesta sent a couple of local chiefs to Havana, Cuba, the Cubans sent two ships to help them, but Spanish illnesses struck and most of the Indians died. The first permanent European settlers arrived in the early 19th century, people came from the Bahamas to South Florida and the Keys to hunt for treasure from the ships that ran aground on the treacherous Great Florida Reef. Some accepted Spanish land offers along the Miami River, at about the same time, the Seminole Indians arrived, along with a group of runaway slaves. The area was affected by the Second Seminole War, during which Major William S. Harney led several raids against the Indians, most non-Indian residents were soldiers stationed at Fort Dallas. It was the most devastating Indian war in American history, causing almost a total loss of population in Miami, after the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, William English, re-established a plantation started by his uncle on the Miami River. He charted the “Village of Miami” on the bank of the Miami River
7.
Card Sound Bridge
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Card Sound Bridge is a high-rise toll causeway connecting southern Miami-Dade County and northern Monroe County. It is one of two ways that motorists can leave or enter the Florida Keys. Toll for two-axle automobiles is USD $1.00, and SunPass is not accepted at this toll plaza, the toll fee is waived upon evacuating the Keys for hurricanes or in instances in which US1 is impassable. The primary responsibility for operating Card Sound Bridge lies with Monroe County, the bridge itself is on Card Sound Road, constructed by then-Dade County in 1926 for the original Card Sound Bridge. Like the Overseas Highway, the history of Card Sound Bridge begins with the Overseas Railway - although at no time was the part of Henry M. Flaglers plans. The concept of an Overseas Highway began with the Miami Motor Club in 1921, at that time, southern Florida was undergoing a land boom, and the club wanted to attract new tourists to an easily reached fishing area. In addition, the real estate interests wanted access to thousands of acres of wilderness in the Upper Keys to develop, commissioners from Dade and Monroe Counties agreed to build a highway connecting Florida City to Key Largo. Construction of both the road and the drawbridge went slowly, the money ran out in 1925 and Monroe County voters were asked to approve the issuance of $2.6 million in bonds in early 1926. The vote—passing the measure with only two dissenting votes—enabled construction to continue, the swing span drawbridge and road were both nearly ready for opening when, on September 18,1926 a major hurricane seriously damaged both. The bridge was redesigned and rebuilt, raising the clearance from five feet to nine feet to accommodate storm surge. On January 25,1928, the 2, 800-foot, wooden, the Overseas Highway was completed and opened on March 29,1938. The following year, US1 was extended from Miami over Card Sound to Key West, world War II triggered a sequence of events that diminished the importance and usefulness of Card Sound Bridge. In addition to shortening the route by 13 miles, it enabled motorists to avoid the bridges in northern Key Largo - including Card Sound. In the two decades after the removal of the Card Sound wooden drawbridge, various schemes to increase access between the Keys and mainland Florida came and went. A 22-mile -long bridge from Cape Sable to No Name Key did not succeed due to the establishment of Everglades National Park, a monorail from Miami to Cape Sable to Key West met the same fate. In the 1960s a plan to connect Key Biscayne to northern Key Largo by way of Elliott Key almost took root as officials from Dade and Monroe Counties differed on the division of toll revenues. In the meantime, the United States Department of the Interior started purchasing land in Biscayne Bay with an eye toward creating a new National Park. The 1968 formation of Biscayne National Monument hastened the demise of the Islandia plan, but one component of the proposal survived, the new causeway was completed and open to traffic in 1969
8.
Florida City, Florida
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Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. Florida City is primarily a Miami suburb and an agricultural area. The city lies to the south and west of, and is contiguous with, both cities suffered catastrophic damage in August 1992, when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida. The city originated as a promotion named Detroit. There were no buildings in the area when the first thirty families arrived in 1910, the name was changed to Florida City when the town incorporated in 1914. It has a historic area, but much of the city is hotels. The city is at the end of the only road running through the Everglades National Park. Florida City is the southernmost city in the United States which is not on an island and it is also the last stop on the mainland north of the Florida Keys. The southern terminus of the Homestead Extension of Floridas Turnpike where it ends at its junction with U. S.1 is located in Florida City, Homestead is immediately north and east of Florida City, and these two cities comprise the greater Homestead-Florida City area. Some of the unincorporated communities in the area are Redland, Leisure City, Naranja. Florida City is situated atop a limestone ridge called the Miami Rock Ridge that extends south from present day North Miami Beach to a location in Everglades National Park. The ridge, consisting of Miami limestone, serves as the ground within the community. The ridge extended from northeast to southwest across the city, the old location of the Florida East Coast Railway track marks the approximate boundary of the location of the limestone ridge south of Davis Parkway. The range of elevation of the ridge is from 5 to 8 feet above sea level, prior to settlement, the ridge was vegetated by South Florida Slash Pine trees, which were alternatively known as Dade County Pine. These pine rocklands were crushed by equipment and converted to farmland during the 1900s, East of the natural ridge was a broad area of marshlands surrounding the area. Old timers of Florida City called these coastal glades the East Glade and this was an extension of Everglades that extended from areas west and south of Florida City to its east. East of the East Glade, marshlands gave way to mangrove swamp prior to reaching Biscayne Bay, soils in the East Glade primarily consisted of a limey soil called Biscayne Marl. Development schemes in the East Glade led to the construction of canals in the early 1900s and this led to a lowering of water tables
9.
Scuba diving
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Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving in which the scuba diver uses a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus which is completely independent of surface supply, to breathe underwater. They may include additional cylinders for decompression gas or emergency breathing gas, closed-circuit or semi-closed circuit rebreather scuba systems allow recycling of exhaled gases. The volume of gas used is reduced compared to that of open circuit, therefore, scuba divers engaged in armed forces covert operations may be referred to as frogmen, combat divers or attack swimmers. A scuba diver primarily moves underwater by using fins attached to the feet, scuba divers are trained in the procedures and skills appropriate to their level of certification by instructors affiliated to the diver certification organisations which issue these certifications. A minimum level of fitness and health is required by most training organisations, the closed-circuit rebreathers were first developed for escape and rescue purposes, and were modified for military use, due to their stealth advantages, as they produce very few bubbles. The first commercially successful closed-circuit scuba was designed and built by English diving engineer, Henry Fleuss in 1878, while working for Siebe Gorman in London. Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman, improved the oxygen rebreather in 1910 with his invention of the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus, rebreathers have been increasingly used by civilians for recreation, especially since the end of the Cold War. This reduced the risk of attack by Communist Bloc forces. After that, the armed forces had less reason to requisition civilian rebreather patents. The single hose two stage scuba regulators trace their origins to Australia, where Ted Eldred developed the first example of type of regulator. This was developed because patents protected the Aqualungs twin hose design, the single hose regulator separates the demand valve from the cylinder, giving the diver air at the ambient pressure at the mouth, rather than ambient pressure at the cylinder valve. The term SCUBA originally referred to United States combat frogmens oxygen rebreathers, SCUBA was originally an acronym, but is now generally used as a common noun or adjective, scuba. It has become acceptable to refer to equipment or scuba apparatus—examples of the linguistic RAS syndrome. Scuba diving may be performed for a number of reasons, both personal and professional, recreational diving is done purely for enjoyment and has a number of technical disciplines to increase interest underwater, such as cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving. Divers may be employed professionally to perform tasks underwater, some of these tasks are suitable for scuba. There are divers who work, full or part-time, in the diving community as instructors, assistant instructors, divemasters. Other specialist areas of diving include military diving, with a long history of military frogmen in various roles. Their roles include direct combat, infiltration behind enemy lines, placing mines or using a manned torpedo, in some cases diver rescue teams may also be part of a fire department, paramedical service or lifeguard unit, and may be classed as public service diving
Key Largo travel guide from Wikivoyage