Biscayne National Park is a
U.S. National Park located in southern
Florida, south of
Miami. The park preserves
Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive
mangrove forest. The park covers and includes
Elliott Key, the park's largest island and first of the true
Florida Keys, formed from fossilized
coral reef. The islands farther north in the park are transitional islands of coral and sand. The offshore portion of the park includes the northernmost region of the
Florida Reef, one of the largest coral reefs in the world.