Ten Thousand Islands

The Ten Thousand Islands (Eng. "Ten Thousand Islands " ) are an archipelago off the southwestern coast of Florida. The exact number of islands is not precisely known, but suggests a few hundred islands less than the name.

The archipelago extends directly off the mainland, and consists mostly of small, mangrove -covered islets. An exception is Marco Iceland at the northern end of the island chain, by far the largest island. It is taken from a city with about 12,000 inhabitants, however, are most of the other islands uninhabited wilderness. Administratively belongs to the northern part of the Ten Thousand Islands to Collier County, the southern islands for Monroe County.

Ecology

The majority of the Ten Thousand Islands are largely unaffected by human influences and therefore a significant habitat. The southernmost part of the island group is part of the Everglades National Park, north of it connects to the protected area of ​​the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The mangroves are important habitat for juvenile fish, about 200 species have been detected in island waters. Also significant is the Ten Thousand Islands as a breeding or wintering grounds of several species of birds (189 species documented ). In addition, sea turtles nest on some islands and seagrass beds serve as food for the rare Caribbean Manatee.