Why do they call it Key West?

Spanish settlers originally called Key West Cayo Hueso, which translates to bone island, referring to the bones of the Calusa Indians who had once lived in the Florida Keys. English speakers mistook Cayo Hueso, thinking it sounded like Key West and the name stuck.



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When explorer Juan Ponce de Leon charted the islands of the Keys in 1513, he called them Los Martires (meaning “the martyrs”) because he thought they resembled men in distress. The more popular name, simply the Keys, is derived from the Spanish word Cayo (“small island”).

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Ponce de Leon first discovered Key West in 1521 during his expedition to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth. He named the island Cayo Hueso, which means Bone Island in Spanish, for the bleached limestone rock formation of the island.

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There are a few local families that dominate the political end of the Island (bubbas), but the grand majority of the residents are from all walks of life. I've lived in Key West my entire life, born and raised a salt water conch.

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You see, Key West and the rest of the Florida Keys are coral islands – former reefs, created when the ocean was deeper and the region was submerged below the sea. Today, the ocean is shallower and the living coral reefs are six miles offshore, providing a barrier to waves and swells.

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The Florida Keys' seafaring history, shaped by pirates and wreckers and treasure hunters, still lives in magnificent vessels like the Schooner Wolf. In 1822, when Key West was a brand-new seafaring settlement, the U.S. government sent Commodore David Porter to banish pirates from area waters.

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The crime rate in the Florida Keys is low, but you should still use common sense when exploring Key West, especially at night and around hectic Duval Street and Mallory Square.

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A: The drive to Key West takes approximately 4 hours from Miami. The distance is 159 Miles (256 KM). Driving the Overseas Highway is a one-of-a-kind experience. You will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the State.

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In the region known as the Florida Keys, there are 800 keys in total, and they stretch over 180 miles. There are 42 bridges connecting all the Florida Keys islands. The longest bridge, Seven Mile Bridge, is 35,716 feet long, and it connects the mainland of Florida to the Florida Keys.

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Yes, of course, Key West is an island in the ocean; there definitely would be sharks making their homes in the waters surrounding it. We, as people, are the ones who end up most encroaching upon the territories of the sharks. There are plenty of different sharks in Key West to keep things interesting.

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Know the Facts. In Key West, there has never been a fatal shark attack, and there's only been one incident reported in the record books since the 1800s. For those who like statistics, you're 45,000 times more likely to die from a car accident than from a shark attack.

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You can also swim and enjoy other water sports like windsurfing and snorkeling as well as kayaking and paddleboarding in the clear, clean water inhabited by tropical fish.

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As sargassum washes ashore every year in Key West, locals and visitors alike are primarily annoyed by the smell of the sargassum quantity on the beach. This giant blob of seaweed breaks up along the shore to create a mess on public beaches in Monroe County, but there's not too much danger involved.

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The 7 Best Islands In the Florida Keys, Florida
  • Key West. Key West is one of the most coveted places for beach holidays in the Florida Keys. ...
  • Little Torch Key. This Florida Key is one of the best-kept secrets in the United States. ...
  • Big Pine Key. ...
  • Key Largo. ...
  • Long Key. ...
  • Duck Key. ...
  • Marathon Key.


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