Description: On September 26, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired true-color image of an early autumn day in southern Florida. Popcorn clouds sit over the eastern section of the state, including many of the beaches along the Atlantic Coast. A broad gray swath along the Atlantic Ocean marks heavy populated areas rich in man-made structures. This extends roughly from Homestead in the south to Fort Pierce in the north. The wetlands of the Everglades, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, appears colored in greens and tans. A World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, Wetland of International Importance, and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty, the Everglades provides critical habitat for numerous rare and endangered species such as the manatee, American Crocodile and the Florida Panther. Another swath of gray along the Gulf of Mexico marks dense human habitation from Marco Island (south) to Fort Myers (north). Off the tip of Florida, a string of islands extend to the south and curve to the west, forming a demarcation between the Gulf of Mexico (north) and the Atlantic Ocean. These small islands form the Florida Keys, once made famous by Ernest Hemmingway and beloved by sun-seeking tourists. Key West may be the most westerly of the Florida Keys, but not the end of the island chain. About 20 miles west lies the tiny, uninhabited Marquesas Keys; another 37 miles west brings one to the Dry Tortugas. The blue waters of the Gulf and Atlantic near the Keys are stained with color, with the greens on the easterly side transitioning to a bright blue in the west. A long tendril of milky blue extends far beyond Dry Tortugas, carried by the Florida Current. These colors are primarily caused by the growth of phytoplankton, which are microscopic, plant-like organisms that thrive in these warm waters nearly year-round. Each species of phytoplankton contains different pigments, lending a different color to the colony when viewed from space.

Image by MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – Public domain – Wikimedia

Description: Florida Keys skateboarder surfer fishing fisherman of Jeremy Ryan McDade

Image by Charlee Ryan – CC0 – Wikimedia

Description: Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches) Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana Year: 1910 (1910s) Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962 Subjects: Natural history Birds Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: for a fewminutes and have time to look about us. Every snag heldits complement of vampires which took to wing only whenwe were very close. Solitary Sandpipers 21 and Parauques70were abundant, the latter apparently nesting on the numerouslittle sand-bars, and swooping near the boat or swingingup to a bare branch where they perched lengthwise andwatched us with half-shut eyes. The rocky islets were covered with the low Water Guava(Psidium fluviatile), and the rocks which are usually coveredwith shallow water or those within reach of the falls werestudded with thousands of little starry flowers. In otherplaces masses of delicate- pink blossoms raised their headsabove the shining mat of green submerged leaves whichfairly carpeted the pools. The beds of pink, green andwhite amid the pools reminded us strongly of the many-colored sponges, hydroids and anemones in a tidal pool ofthe Bay of Fundy or a reef off a Florida key. These aquaticflowers, far out from shore, gave forth a sweet perfume Text Appearing After Image: WATER TRAIL FROM GEORGETOWN TO AREMU. 265 attracting flies, bees and even butterflies, which flitted throughthe mist, just clearing the foaming water. Now and then small reddish-brown crocodiles were seensunning themselves on the sand-bars. One, not more thanthree feet in length, paid no attention to the revolver shotswhich threw up the water close to him. The little flyingfish became more numerous as we went on, skimming hereand there in the smooth pools. Twice we saw one dash atan insect, once a large bee and the second time a butterfly,but they were less successful in their insect hunting thanthe Swallows — both the Banded 118 and the Variegated 119—which swooped across our bow. Whenever we went close toa bank we saw multitudes of a new flower, with its gracefulrebarbed stamens, looking like the falling lines of sparksfrom a rocket. We lunched to-day on a splendid outcropping of rock onthe left bank, after chasing into the cracks some big andremarkably colored tarantulas, with Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.

Image by Internet Archive Book Images – No restrictions – Wikimedia

Description: On January 11, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of a sunny winter’s day in South Florida. The view stretches from the near-circular Lake Okeechobee in the north to the Florida Keys in the south, and from the Gulf of Mexico (west) to the Atlantic Ocean. The large, nearly circular body of water near the top of the image is Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida. Although the surface area measures about 730 square miles, the lake is extremely shallow with an average depth of 9 feet. Okeechobee fills multiple functions, including commercial and sport fishing, flood control, and acts as a reservoir for water for much of South Florida. South of Okeechobee and reaching to the southern tip of coastal Florida, a vast muddy-green area marks the Florida Everglades, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Part of the Everglades has been protected as the Everglades National Park, which has also been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance. The Park covers 2,358 square miles (6,105 square km) of Florida’s southern tip. Curving off of the tip of Florida are a string of islands, islets, and reefs known as the Florida Keys. They stretch about 497 miles (309 km) from the Virgin Key to the western-most Dry Tortugas. Key West, probably the most famous of the Florida Keys, lies about 100 miles (160 km) from the mainland and is the southern-most city in the United States. The bright waters of the Florida Bay sit between the Keys and mainland Florida. Large swaths of gray color the mainland, most prominently along the east and west coasts, but also scattered across the state. These are cities, highways, and other areas of human construction. The largest area on the west coast is Fort Myers. The large swath along the east coast shows almost unbroken connections between metropolitan areas beginning with Miami in the south and extending to West Palm Beach in the north.

Image by MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC – Public domain – Wikimedia