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| Fossilized brain coral |
If we were to ask you what formed the chain of islands that
we know as the Florida Keys, you would say that it was probably old coral reefs
that have been exposed as the ocean receded.
And you would be right, in a way.
In fact, those coral reefs over time were formed into limestone. Just like the limestone in other places, the
submerged sea creatures left behind calcium, in this case from the coral
polyp exoskeletons, that was compressed into limestone. Some of the limestone in the Keys still bears
the fossil remains of recognizable coral formations that grow on the reefs today.
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| Fossilized star coral. |
In the early 1900’s, Henry Flagler extended his railroad
that already ran along the east coast of Florida, beyond Miami to Key
West.
Stimulated by a very cold winter and wanting to expand his range of warm destinations, and the possibility of importing goods from Cuba by way of Key West, Flagler
started building a railway along the Keys, connecting them to the mainland.
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Aren't the fossils pretty?
The vertical cut is left from the process of cutting blocks of stone. |
In some situations, he needed fill stone to build land
between closely adjacent Keys, and in other situations he built bridges to
cross longer distances between the islands.
To obtain gravel for the land fill and the railway bed, he purchased
quarry land on Windley (then called Umbrella) Key for a whopping $852.80.
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The red stain is from African dust blown across the ocean
that rinsed into a cavity created by natural acids. |
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| The blast walls of Flagler Quarry |
There are three quarries on the site, two of which are
recognizable as quarries.
The gravel was
dynamited from the ground in the Flagler Quarry.
These quarry walls are crenelated with the
bores and blasts from the dynamite.
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| A cut block of keystone that was never used. |
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| The relatively smooth walls of Windley Quarry with cut marks |
The stone was cut into blocks from the Windley Quarry, so the
walls are mostly smooth with regularly spaced cut marks.
The stone was considered so beautiful
that it was used as decorative building stone around the country.
The name of Key Largo Limestone was shortened
to Keystone.
This quarry continued to
work into the 1960s and rusting quarry machinery can still be seen there.
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| Machinery traveled along a track cutting ever deepening grooves in the stone. |
What is remarkable about these quarries is that as you walk
along the exposed limestone walls, you can recognize brain coral, star coral and other coral
shapes fossilized into the stone.
These
are cross sections of ancient coral reefs formed nearly 125,000 years ago.
There are holes in the walls that once housed clam-like
animals and other creatures that burrowed into the living reef.
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| Coral fossils in gravel underfoot |
The state park was established in 1999 to provide geologists
and visitors the rare opportunity to view and study these 8-foot tall cross
sections of the ancient coral.
The park also
includes 5 trails that highlight the fauna, history and geology of the
park.
The park ranger will loan you an
extensive book for a self-guided tour, or you can take one of the twice daily
ranger-led tours.
Now that we are aware
of these fossils, we found them in gravel on paths in the state park, and
stones set decoratively on the side of the road in our campground.
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| Could this be a fossilized sea fan? |
Flagler’s Overseas Railroad operated from 1912 to 1935 when
it was partially destroyed by a major storm called the Labor Day Hurricane.
The railway bed built by Flagler using, in
part, this limestone gravel, is now the bed for US Route 1, the main automotive
thoroughfare connecting the Keys.
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