OwlEyes Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 I went to Key West and throughout Florida Keys, almost every shoreline, I saw coral and shells in matrix. Are they fossil coral and shells or are they modern? Here are some pictures. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Fossilized. According to Wikipedia: "The northern and central sections of the Florida Keys are the exposed portions of an ancient coral reef, the Key Largo Limestone." "The islands in the southwestern part of the chain, from Big Pine Key to the Marquesas Keys, are exposed areas of Miami Limestone." Both are Pleistocene in age. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Some lovely corals there! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 The coral is interesting. Not sure what species it is. There is a jetty at Sand Key park near Clearwater Beach that is composed of big shelly boulders like the ones in your photos (minus the coral). People thought I was nuts because I spent half the day climbing all over the jetty instead of enjoying the surf. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwlEyes Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 Thank you. How about the shell? Are they fossil or just modern? I asked because when I saw them in the matrix I think they are fossilized shell but when I come to Biscayne National Park, In the water, I saw living shells which are also stuck in the rock under water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotSauceCommittee Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 What a gorgeous coral! It looks huge! [ . . .] to a naturalist who is reading in the face of the rocks the annals of a former world, the mossy covering which obstructs his view, and renders indistinguishable the different species of stone, is no less than a serious subject of regret. - James Hutton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 On 3/19/2020 at 2:28 PM, OwlEyes said: Thank you. How about the shell? Are they fossil or just modern? I asked because when I saw them in the matrix I think they are fossilized shell but when I come to Biscayne National Park, In the water, I saw living shells which are also stuck in the rock under water. Those are fossil. Probably Eocene or Miocene. I am not sure which. Somebody else here can probably chime in with something more authoritative. Some of these shell species are still extant, so you might see recent ones living side by side on rock with fossilized examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 If the boulders are being used as breakwater, it's possible that the material was trucked in from further north. I doubt there's much mining going on in the Keys. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoffy Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Check out windley key State Park in Islamorada Fl if you ever go visit it take plenty of bug spray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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