Focus on Sedimentary Environments

Pleistocene coral reef

Windley Key Quarries, Florida Keys, USA

The quarry	quarry face	reef rubble	coral colonies	reef dwellers	thin section

The quarries on Windley Key were worked in the early 20th century, primarily for the construction of Flagler's Overseas Railroad along the entire length of the Florida Keys, from the mainland to Key West. They provide superb sections through Pleistocene reef rocks, dominated by colonial corals.

The disused quarries are managed as a geological site by the Florida State Parks system, and include a series of well-documented interpretative trails.

• These limestones, belonging to the Key Largo Limestone Formation, form the bedrock for most of the Upper and Middle Keys.
• The limestones represent similar reef environments to those seen offshore of the Florida Keys today
• However, the outcrops at Windley Key have been interpreted as part of a large patch reef complex, rather than a shelf-edge barrier reef

Links

• Windley Key - part of a virtual field trip to the Florida Keys
• Windley Key Fossil Reef State Geological Site

The following non-geological web sites provide interesting historical background:

• The Overseas Railroad
• History and Background: The Overseas Railroad

Page © ; last updated 10 February, 2005