The
Florida Keys are a
coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of
Florida, forming the southernmost portion of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida
peninsula, about south of
Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to
Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited
Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the
Florida Straits, dividing the
Atlantic Ocean to the east from the
Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of
Florida Bay. At the nearest point, the southern part of Key West is just from
Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 23.5 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.