Florida Scuba Diving

In the 1500's Spanish adventurer Juan Ponce de Leon named his newest discovery after the season of his arrival; Pascua Florida (Flowery Easter). Subtropicla Florida lies in the southwestern region of the US and is flanked by the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

The leaders of the natives who had been living there for thousands of years, namely the Ais, Apalachee, the Calusa, Timucua and Tocobago tribes welcomed many of the priests sent to covert them to Christianity into their villages.

Today Florida has an estimated population over 18 million and is a 'key' holiday destination due to its long list of attractions, among which include the famous Disney World near Tampa and its proximity to the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Cuba.

America's first undersea park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park close to Key Largo has 55 varieties of coral and 600 species of marine life. It is also known for an interesting man-mad underwater phenomenon, the 4,000 pound bronze Christ of the Abyss, a eight-and-a-half-foot sculpture of Jesus.

The only barrier reef in North America is located in Florida, its the largest reef in the world running 192 miles from Key Bisayne to the Dry Torugas with visibility to rival other of its kind across the globe. The Keys themselves are very popular scuba destinations such as Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, which caters to all dive levels and has been tipped by leading dive magazines as "Unsurpassed Diving Spot in North America." Its coral reef formations, healthy elkhorn coral, sea vegetation and abundant fish population are conscientiously protected.

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