The "Petrified Forest" of Biscayne Bay

In solidarity with the "Pachanga" Kayaking Meetup group that launched off Virginia Key this morning, enjoy this virtual tour of the fossilized mangrove reef found offshore of the Bear Cut Preserve. (see the Untamed Science video link below.)

The Fossil Reef is actually the fossilized remains of an ancient black mangrove forest that once extended along the shoreline for miles. This is believed to be the first reported occurrence of the fossilization of mangrove roots. The area was exposed by Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Radiocarbon dating indicates the age of the rods to be between 1000 and 2000 years.

“Key Biscayne’s Petrified Forest” is home to small marine animals and plants found in inter tidal zones. See sergeant major fish swimming and barnacles and anemones attached to the surface of the reef. The offshore seagrasses support octopi, sea horses, snapper, blue crabs, spider crabs, sea squarts and queen conch.


Attention landlubbers:
You can also see the fossilized forest from land through the Fossil Reef Trail that winds its way through the 163-acre Bear Cut Nature Preserve in the northern part of Crandon Park. Start at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center. The walk/bicycle trail takes you through a canopied walk of strangler figs and sea grape trees where you may encounter birds of prey, including hawks, kestrels and ospreys perched on the larger dead trees. Look for smaller songbirds among the shrubs and wading birds in the wetter areas, including egrets and herons. The 30-minute walk ends with a wonderful payoff - a boardwalk with great views of the fossil reef as well as the shoreline of Virginia Key.

Photos: Fossilized Roof Reef, Fossil Reef Trail in the Bear Cut Nature Preserve

Resources:
http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/article/fossil-reef-near-miami-fl
http://www.biscaynenaturecenter.org

Virginia Key Kayaking Trip Offers Window to Wilderness of Bear Cut Preserve

One kayaker who participated in the recent Virginia Key kayaking meet-up trip told his story to View from Virginia Key:

By 9:30 a.m. there was a array of two dozen kayaks in bright hues - blue, yellow, green - lined up on Virginia Key beach. Everyone was busy getting their gear in place and mapping out our route out to sea.

The morning started out somewhat overcast with a slight breeze coming in off the water. The water was calm that early in the morning, with few motorboats in Bear Cut, the water body that divides Virginia Key from the tip of Key Biscayne.

Across the Cut, you could see the green horizon of the Bear Cut Preserve, to the north lay Fisher Island.

Even through I’d always heard Bear Cut had a powerful current we paddled across easily and reached the reef in about a half hour.

The fossilized reef - which are actually fossilized mangrove roots from an ancient forest -- looks like giant, jagged rocks from a distance. Up close, the jags and cuts are more ominous. You have to be careful because if your kayak hits one, you’ll run a ground and I was afraid it could even slice my kayak.

We settled into a spot south of an observation overlook in the Bear Cut Preserve, which is a designated natural Environment Study Area in Crandon Park. The area includes various ecosystems - dunes, mangroves and coastal hammock and seagrass beds -- that, together with Virginia Key’s natural areas, are nesting and feeding areas for migrating songbirds, hawks and sea turtles.


The water was about 2-3 feet and crystal clear. With the sun out, you could see clear to the sandy bottom, which is lined with seagrasses. The reef is full of life: live conch, small tropical fish in brilliant hues of purple, yellow and blue. The seagrass beds where we were snorkeling are home to mangrove snapper, parrotfish, crabs, shrimp, sea stars and puffer fish.

The cool water felt good as the heat of the day rose.

It was hard to leave but eventually we headed out to sea to look for the Half Moon underwater archaeological site, where the remains of a schooner that sank in the 1930s has created an artificial reef.

We anchored near a channel marker about a half hour paddle out to sea.

All the kayaks linked together with a rope, since only some of us had anchor. After about 10 minutes of looking, a storm started to materialize off the ocean and we had to pull out quickly.

We ended up paddling back in a light rain, as the seas got rougher. But the storm never reached a fevered pitch and we landed back on Virginia Key safely, ready to tackle Bear Cut another day in search of the Half Moon.