Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, Geological state park in Islamorada, Florida Keys, United States.
Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is a former quarry site where exposed walls of Key Largo Limestone show fossilized coral. The quarry supplied stone for Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad and later for decorative Keystone. Original quarry machinery is on display, and the Hurricane Monument in Islamorada was built from Keystone taken here.
Henry Flagler's company quarried Key Largo Limestone here in the early 1900s to build the Overseas Railroad. After the railroad was completed, the site supplied decorative stone pieces known as Keystone. The Hurricane Monument at Mile Marker 82 in Islamorada was built from this Keystone, and the Florida Geological Survey named the site a State Geological Site in 1998.
The visitor center displays exhibits about how the Florida Keys formed and shows preserved machinery from the industrial quarry era. These objects help visitors picture how workers once operated here daily.
The park has about 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) of walking trails through tropical forest with signs explaining geological formations. Visitors should be prepared for humidity and wear comfortable shoes for the pathways.
The quarry walls contain five different coral species side by side in a single layer of Key Largo Limestone. This grouping shows a rare example of how the ancient coral ecosystem was structured here.
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