Mule Keys

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mule Keys is a group of scattered islets between 3 and 12 miles (5-20 km) west of Key West, separated from it by Northwest Channel. On the west, they are separated from the Marquesas Keys by 6 mile (10 km) wide Boca Grande Channel. They belong to the outlying islands of the Florida Keys. Administratively, they are unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida. The islets all part of Key West National Wildlife Refuge. The area of the islets totals 1.07 mi² (2.77 km²), of which 1.02 mi² (2.63 km²) are land area and 0.05 mi² (0.14 km²) inland water bodies (on three of the keys). The islets are uninhabited except Mule Key, for which the census of 2000 lists one housing unit with a population of two (park rangers or coast guard).

The easternmost islet, Mule Key, is 2.7 miles (4.4 km) west of Sunset Key which is part of Key West city. The westernmost (and largest) islet, Boca Grande Key, is 6 miles (10 km) east of the Marquesas Keys.

12 individual islets are named on detailed topographical maps:

Block Nr.¹⁾	Islet	Land Area (m²)	Inland Waters (m²)	Total Area (m²)	Coordinates	Comment

3031	Mule Key	52169	-	52169	24°33′43.2″N, 81°51′42.4″W	easternmost
3032	Archer Key	247136	-	247136	24°33′43.2″N, 81°53′23.3″W	actually thwo separate islets
3033	Crawfish Key	17125	-	17125	24°32′19.4″N, 81°53′01.6″W
3034	Barracouta Key²⁾	482627	57221	539848	24°32′38.5″N, 81°55′17.5″W	including tiny islet 430 m south
3034	Joe Ingram Key²⁾	482627	-	539848	24°32′43.9″N, 81°54′45.4″W	smallest
3035	Man Key	358808	-	358808	24°31′40.3″N, 81°55′38.5″W	actually three separate islets
3036	Ballast Key	46801	4741	51542	24°31′23.0″N, 81°57′51.1″W	southernmost
3037	Woman Key	317669	-	317669	24°31′27.6″N, 81°58′25.4″W
3038	Boca Grande Key	741228	80416	821644	24°32′04.4″N, 82°00′18.3″W	largest, westernmost
3039	Little Mullet Key	58625	-	58625	24°34′53.8″N, 81°57′01.9″W
3040	Big Mullet Key	87211	-	87211	24°34′44.5″N, 81°55′08.0″W
3041	Cottrell Key	215943	-	215943	24°36′12.9″N, 81°55′17.7″W	northernmost
	Mule Keys	2625342	142378	2767720
¹⁾ of Block Group 3, Census tract 9725, Monroe County, Florida [1] ²⁾ Because Barracouta Key and Joe Ingram Key together from one census block, no exact separate area figures are available. Joe Ingram Key is estimated at 10,000 m².

On nautical maps, the Mule Keys appear like an atoll of 11 miles (18 km) length east-west, and 6 miles (10 km) width north-south (covering a sea area of roughly 58 mi² (150 km²)), with Mule Key, Crawfish Key, Man Key, Ballast Key, Woman Key and Boca Grande Key along the southern rim (from east to west), and Cottrell Key in the north.

7 miles (11 km) south of Mule Key, separated from the Mule Keys by West Channel, are three notable submerged reefs, from east to west:

Eastern Dry Rocks, at 24°27′42.6″N, 81°50′38.1″W
Rock Key, at 24°27′21.3″N, 81°51′26.3″W
Sand Key, at 24°27′18.3″N, 81°52′37.5″W

[edit] See also

Key West National Wildlife Refuge

[edit] External Links

Edit	Florida Keys
Biscayne National Park	Soldier Key, Ragged Keys, Boca Chita Key, Sands Key, Elliott Key, Adams Key, Old Rhodes Key, City of Islandia
Upper keys	Key Largo (island), North Key Largo (CDP), Key Largo (CDP), Tavernier (CDP), Plantation Key (island), Plantation Key (former CDP), Windley Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Indian Key, Lignumvitae Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Village of Islamorada
Middle keys	Craig Key, Fiesta Key, Long Key, City of Layton, Conch Key, Duck Key (CDP), Grassy Key, Crawl Key, Long Point Key, Fat Deer Key, Key Vaca, City of Marathon, City of Key Colony Beach, Boot Key, Knight's Key, Pigeon Key
Lower keys	Little Duck Key, Missouri Key, Ohio Key, Sunshine Key, Bahia Honda Key, Spanish Harbor Key, West Summerland Key, No Name Key, Big Pine Key (CDP), Little Torch Key, Middle Torch Key, Big Torch Key, Ramrod Key, Summerland Key, Knockemdown Key, Cudjoe Key (CDP), Sugarloaf Key, Park Key, Lower Sugarloaf Key, Saddlebunch Keys, Shark Key, Geiger Key, Big Coppitt Key (CDP), East Rockland Key, Rockland Key, Boca Chica Key, Key Haven, Stock Island (CDP), Key West, Sigsbee Park, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, Wisteria Island
Outlying islands	Mule Keys, Ballast Key, Marquesas Keys, Dry Tortugas, Tortugas Bank
Areas	Florida Bay, Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, National Key Deer Sanctuary, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park, Key West National Wildlife Refuge, Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Other topics	Monroe County, Conch Republic, Overseas Highway, Overseas Railroad, Card Sound Bridge, Seven Mile Bridge, Bahia Honda Bridge, Theater of the Sea, Hurricane Wilma, Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Key Deer, Ocean Reef Club, Key lime pie, Florida Keys Keynoter, Key West Citizen