Vaca Key

Vaca Key is an island in the middle Florida Keys, located entirely within the borders of the city of Marathon, Florida. It is often incorrectly identified as "Marathon Key".

Geography

Vaca Key is located in between Fat Deer Key and Knight's Key. Vaca Key was also connected via bridge to Boot Key until the city of Marathon neglected the bridge so long it had to be torn down causing hardships to the business on Boot Key. Vaca Key comprises most of the north shore of Boot Key Harbor.

Nomenclature

Various theories as to the origin of the name exist. The most likely example is that the island was named after Alavar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, who wrote a detailed account of the 16th-century exploration of Florida. Other theories revolve around the word vaca, meaning "cattle" in Spanish. The 1957 book The Florida Keys indicates that the island's name comes from wild cattle that used to live on the island. Evidence of these cattle has never been found. The name may also refer to manatees, "sea cows" that thrived in the area prior to the 1950s.

Because it lies completely within the borders of Marathon, the island is often incorrectly referred to as "Marathon Key".

Climate

Vaca Key is located at 24.718N, 81.069W, geographically in the subtropics, but with a completely tropical climate. Because of the proximity of the Gulf Stream to the southeast, and the tempering effects of the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north, Vaca Key has a notably mild, tropical-maritime climate,^[1] (Köppen climate classification Aw, similar to the Caribbean islands). Cold fronts are strongly modified by the warm water as they move in from the north in winter. The average low and high temperatures in January are 58 °F and 77 °F.^[2]

In the summer, temperatures are somewhat higher than in Key West, due to the island's proximity to the shallower waters of Florida Bay, which are heated more easily than the deeper waters of the Florida Strait, south of Key West. The season is characterized by hot, humid conditions and sharp, sudden thunderstorms that often drop substantial amounts of rain on the island. Hurricanes are a common threat during the summer, and sometimes affect the island directly, as was the case with the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Donna in 1960. The average low and high temperatures in August are 79 °F and 89 °F, with temperatures sometimes approaching the 100° mark.^[3]

Transportation

U.S. 1, also known as the Overseas Highway, crosses the key at approximately mile markers 47.5–53.5. Prior to the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Vaca Key was a major rail stop along the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. It was home to a turnaround wye and several machine and repair shops. During the Great Depression and the construction of the Overseas Highway, Vaca Key was home to Camp No. 10, a home for several hundred World War I veterans working on the project.

Vaca Key is accessible by water, primarily through Boot Key Harbor, which lies on the south side of the island. Due to the shallow waters of the harbor, deep-draft ships cannot be unloaded there. Between 1906 and 1912, Vaca Key functioned as a temporary deep-water port with the addition of the Knight's Key Trestle three miles to the west of the island. Built in order to provide a supply line for the growing Overseas Railroad, the trestle was dismantled and burnt when the railroad was completed.

During World War II, Vaca Key gained an airport. Originally intended to be a training field for pilots flying between Homestead and Miami, the airport was turned over to the county after the conclusion of the war.

History

^[4]

References

Florida Keys

Biscayne National Park	Soldier Ragged Boca Chita Sands Elliott Adams Caesar's Rock Meig's Rubicon Reid Porgy Totten Old Rhodes Islandia

Upper keys	Key Largo Island CDP North Tavernier Plantation Island former CDP Windley Upper Matecumbe Tea Table Indian Lignumvitae Lower Matecumbe Islamorada

Middle keys	Craig Fiesta Long Layton Conch Little Duck Key Island CDP Grassy Crawl Long Point Fat Deer Vaca Marathon Key Colony Beach Boot Knights

Lower keys	Pigeon Money Little Duck Missouri Ohio Sunshine Bahia Honda Spanish Harbor Scout (West Summerland) No Name Big Pine Torch Little Middle Big Ramrod Summerland Knockemdown Cudjoe Sugarloaf Park Lower Sugarloaf Saddlebunch Shark Geiger Big Coppitt Island CDP East Rockland Rockland Boca Chica Raccoon Stock Island Island CDP Key West Island City Sigsbee Fleming Sunset Wisteria

Outlying islands	Mule Keys Mule Crawfish Archer Joe Ingram Big Mullet Barracouta Cottrell Man Little Mullet Ballast Woman Boca Grande Marquesas Keys Dry Tortugas Tortugas Banks (submerged)

Areas	Florida Bay Dry Tortugas National Park Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary National Key Deer Refuge 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 Florida Reef

Other topics	Monroe County Conch Republic Overseas Highway Overseas Railroad Card Sound Bridge Jewfish Creek Bridge Seven Mile Bridge Bahia Honda Rail Bridge Fort Jefferson Theater of the Sea Hurricane Wilma 1935 Labor Day hurricane Key Deer Key lime pie Florida Keys Keynoter Key West Citizen

Coordinates: 24°43′01″N 81°04′24″W / 24.716934°N 81.073308°W / 24.716934; -81.073308

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