PortMiami, formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach in Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the largest cargo ports in the United States. It is connected to Downtown Miami by Port Boulevard—a causeway over the Intracoastal Waterway—and to the neighboring Watson Island via the Port of Miami Tunnel. The port is located on Dodge Island, which is the combination of three historic islands (Dodge, Lummus and Sam’s Islands) that have since been combined into one. It is named in honor of 19 term Florida Congressman Dante Fascell. read more…
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach in Florida, located due east of Miami city proper between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses all of the barrier islands of Miami Beach south of Indian Creek. This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, due to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, and John S. Collins, the latter of whose construction of the Collins Bridge provided the first vital land link between mainland Miami and the beaches. In both daytime and at nightfall, the South Beach section of Miami Beach is a major entertainment destination with hundreds of nightclubs, restaurants (among others, the internationally known Joe’s Stone Crab), boutiques and hotels. The area is popular with tourists from the Western world and Israel, with some having permanent or second homes. read more…
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 172,971 acres (69,999 ha) 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. Biscayne National Park protects four distinct ecosystems: the shoreline mangrove swamp, the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay, the coral limestone keys and the offshore Florida Reef. The shoreline swamps of the mainland and island margins provide a nursery for larval and juvenile fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The bay waters harbor immature and adult fish, seagrass beds, sponges, soft corals, and manatees. The keys are covered with tropical vegetation including endangered cacti and palms, and their beaches provide nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles. Offshore reefs and waters harbor more than 200 species of fish, pelagic birds, whales and hard corals. Sixteen endangered species including Schaus’ swallowtail butterflies, smalltooth sawfish, manatees, and green and hawksbill sea turtles may be observed in the park. Biscayne also has a small population of threatened American crocodiles and a few American alligators. read more…
Coconut Grove is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County in Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, South Dixie Highway (US 1) and Rickenbacker Causeway to the north, and Biscayne Bay to the east. It is south of the neighborhoods of Brickell and The Roads and east of Coral Gables. The neighborhood’s name has been sometimes spelled “Cocoanut Grove” but the definitive spelling “Coconut Grove” was established when the city was incorporated in 1919. What is today referred to as Coconut Grove was formed in 1925 when the city of Miami annexed two areas of about equal size, the city of Coconut Grove and most of the town of Silver Bluff. The area is often referred to as “The Grove” and many locals take pride that Coconut Grove is one of the greenest areas of Miami. Coconut Grove is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at Coconut Grove and Douglas Road stations. Coconut Grove was long known as Miami’s art and artist district. read more…
Fisher Island is a census-designated place of metropolitan Miami, located on a barrier island of the same name. As of the 2010 census, Fisher Island had the highest per capita income of any place in the United States. The island has only 218 households and a total population of 467 persons. A relatively small part of the northern part of the island is incorporated as a part of the city of Miami Beach. read more…
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County in Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a series of natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper. The neighborhood of South Beach, comprising the southernmost 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) of Miami Beach, along with Downtown Miami and Port of Miami, collectively form the commercial center of South Florida. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 88,000. Miami Beach has been one of America’s pre-eminent beach resorts since the early 20th century. read more…
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625. The 42nd largest city proper in the United States, with a population of 399,457, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the South Florida metropolitan area, and the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States. According to the US Census Bureau, Miami’s metro area is the seventh most populous and fifth-largest urban area in the United States, with a population of around 5.5 million. Miami and its suburbs are located on a broad plain between the Florida Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east that also extends from Florida Bay north to Lake Okeechobee. read more…
