Dry Rocks
25.130957 - 80.2942191Koordinaten: 25 ° 7 ' 51 " N, 80 ° 17' 39 " W
The Key Largo Dry Rocks ( even "Dry Rocks " ) is a coral reef within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, a nature reserve in front of the Florida Keys. It is located east of Key Largo, just east of the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The reef lies in the protected zone ( Sanctuary Preservation Area, SPA ) near the Grecian Rocks and " The Elbow ".
Description
The reef is round and is located on the coastal side facing in three and on the side facing away from nine meters deep. It is an inner Bankriff, which has characteristics of lying further away from the coast bank reefs and patch reefs. On the küstenabgewendeten side in front of the reef a short gutter system and the reef top and the Rückriff are characterized by large hard coral formations. On the reef flat standing elkhorn coral (Acropora palmanta ) rich at high tide to about a meter and at low tide to about 30 inches below the water surface. Through the reef to attract many passages and transitions.
The Reef is followed by a sandy soil, which is also home to corals. The entire reef is surrounded by sandy ground and sea grass meadows.
"Christ of the Abyss "
In the southern part of the reef is a copy of the Italian Cristo degli abissi ( "Christ of the Abyss "), an about 2.5 to 3 meters high bronze statue of a statue of Christ with outstretched arms. It stands on a concrete base, which is situated on the sandy bottom between two large coral heads. The statue was erected in 1966 and was a gift of the Italian dive equipment manufacturer Egidio Cressi to the Underwater Society of America.
The statue is - as the entire hard material of the reef - by corals. These are small colonies of brain coral ( Astroides calycularis ) and coasts of fire coral ( Millepora genus ). Directly in front of the figure is a large and old brain coral block.
Tourism
The Key Largo Dry Rocks are among the most popular dive sites in the Florida Keys, where they are equally used by snorkelers and scuba divers. In rough seas in the water clarity decreases due to the swirl-ups, in calm seas, the reef is, however, described as " fabulous dive site " with a visibility of up to 15 meters.
The "Christ of the Abyss " is a special attraction and meant that the reef has become especially popular for underwater weddings. One source from 1997 following, here about 200 weddings per year were held, some with comparable large ceremony as is usual in country weddings.