Hawk Channel

View of Hawk Channel from Marathon or Islamorada at sunset

Hawk Channel is a shallow, elongated basin and navigable passage along the Atlantic coast of the Florida Keys. The channel makes up a smaller portion of the Florida Platform from Key West to the southernmost point of Key Biscayne and lies between the Keys and the Florida Reef Tract to the southeast.[1] It connects the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean through tidal exchanges crossing from the Florida Bay to the Straits of Florida.[2][3][4]

It extends roughly 230 km (120 nmi; 140 mi) from Fowey Rocks, off Key Biscayne, to Sand Key, off Key West. Its width ranges from approximately 10 km (5.4 nmi; 6.2 mi) to 0.40 km (1⁄4 mi) wide at its narrowest part.[5][6] It varies in depth from 7 to 8 m (23 to 26 ft) off the Upper Keys along the center of the channel to 12 to 15 m (39 to 49 ft) off the Middle and Lower Keys. A course in Hawk Channel roughly 3.2 km (2 mi) offshore is partially protected by the deepwater of the Straits of Florida and allows vessels drawing roughly 2.1 to 3.0 m (7 to 10 ft) to avoid the adverse currents of the Gulf Stream while crossing through the Keys.[7][8][9]

24°47′N 80°47′W / 24.783°N 80.783°W / 24.783; -80.783

  1. ^ Young, Claiborne; Stinemetz, Morgan (2006). Cruising the Florida Keys (2nd ed.). Arcadia Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 9781455603206.
  2. ^ Smith, Ned P.; Pitts, Patrick A. (December 1, 1998). "Final Report: Hawk Channel Transport Study: Pathways and Processes" (PDF). Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution: 2–11.
  3. ^ Williams, John Lee (1837). The Territory of Florida: Or Sketches of the Topography, Civil and Natural History, of the Country, the Climate, and the Indian Tribes, from the First Discovery to the Present Time (Digitized ed.). A. T. Goodrich. p. 40.
  4. ^ Porter, James; Porter, Karen G. (2001). The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys. CRC Press. pp. 354–772. ISBN 9781420039412.
  5. ^ "Chart Coverage in Coast Pilot 4 - Chapter 11" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. ^ Dean, Love (1998). Lighthouses of the Florida Keys. Pineapple Press. p. 150. ISBN 9781561641659.
  7. ^ "Waterway Guide | Hawk Channel, FL | Marinas & Navigation". www.waterwayguide.com. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  8. ^ Reilly, Benjamin (2005). Tropical Surge: A History of Ambition and Disaster on the Florida Shore. Pineapple Press. p. 36. ISBN 9781561643301.
  9. ^ and Geodetic Survey, U.S. Coast (1913). Table of Depths for Channels and Harbors Coasts of the U.S. Including Porto Rico ... and the Philippine Islands (Digitized ed.). p. 162.