Where are the beaches? The Florida Keys were actually a living coral reef about ten thousand years ago. The current reef a few miles offshore protects much of the shoreline from tidal action which would break sown the coral into sand.

The Florida Keys are made of coral and our beaches are not what most people envision 'Tropical Island' beaches to be. The Keys are sallow and surrounded by a living reef system with the Atlantic Ocean to our east, and the Gulf of Mexico on our west. This reef system creates a large lagoon that contains the entire Florida Keys. To most peoples' surprise we have no waves. Without waves there is no sand which is good for the reefs because sand and reefs don't mix. Because Keys' beaches are made up of crushed coral with various sizes of coral rock and some sand mixed in they need to be fortified with sand that is brought in from elsewhere. If you plan on spending a lot of time on the beaches you may wish to buy a pair of beach shoes or flip-flops which will make your beach experience a lot more enjoyable.