Snorkeling

The Florida Reef (also known as the Great Florida Reef, Florida reefs, Florida Reef Tract and Florida Keys Reef Tract) is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States.[1] It is the third largest coral barrier reef system in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef).[2] It lies a few miles seaward of the Florida Keys, is about 4 miles (6 to 7 km) wide and extends (along the 20 meter depth contour) 270 km (170 mi) from Fowey Rocks just east of Soldier Key to just south of the Marquesas Keys.

Western Sambo has one of the last remaining stands of living elkhorn coral in the Lower Keys, a species once abundant throughout the Keys. Anemones, crabs, starfish, sea cucumbers, sand dollars, and sea urchins are found nearshore. Surgeonfish, bar jacks, foureye butterflyfish, rosy blennies, neon gobies, grunts, wrasses, angelfish, damselfish, striped parrotfish, butter hamlets, sharpnosed puffers, and schoolmasters are residents at the reef. Huge gray angelfish and hogfish meander the shallow areas of Western Sambo.