Florida is a strait in the Northern Hemisphere that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico. Its water surface separates the Florida peninsula from the island of Cuba. The location of the strait can be seen on the map below.
What are the characteristics of the Strait of Florida? What are its features? This will be discussed in the article.
General information
The Strait of Florida is 651 kilometers long. It has the largest width of 150 kilometers (the smallest - 80 kilometers). The depth of the Strait of Florida in its navigable part is from 150 to 2085 meters. At the same time, depths from 500 to 700 meters prevail in it. The narrowest section of the strait is between the small islands of the Florida Keys and Liberty Island, as Cuba is traditionally called. The main ports of the strait are Havana and Miami. In 1977, the United States and Cuba signed an agreement regulating the boundaries of the strait for these two states. According to him, the border between these states runs in the middle of the Strait of Florida.
The strait is navigable and is used quite actively as such. Its water routes connect the countries of Central and South America, Mexico, and the USA. Industrial fishing is developed here.
Climate
The climate in the strait is a tropical trade wind. The rainy season lasts from May to September, so the summer here is not very pleasant. Tropical cyclones are frequent. Winter, on the other hand, is dry. On average, 1400 mm of precipitation falls here annually, and the average annual humidity is 75%.
The average temperature in July is 27.5 degrees Celsius, in January - 22.5 degrees. The average annual water temperature is 27 degrees above zero.
A feature of the strait is a strong current of the same name, a continuation of the Caribbean, which is involved in the formation of the Gulf Stream, merging with another strong current - the Antilles. In addition, sharks are found here, and their flocks, as well as the directed water flow, pose a great danger to refugees from the island of Cuba, most of whom enter the United States by this route. Many of them die on the way.
History
A Spanish conquistador named Juan Ponce de León was the first navigator to cross the Strait of Florida in 1513. Even then, his team was able to assess the strength of the current, which prevented their movement, so they had to move along the coast, literally pressing into the land. However, this did not help either: intending to go around the Island of Liberty (Cuba) from the southwest, the sailors after some time found that they were onnortheast of the island, where they were carried by the oncoming current.
It was this feature of the strait that at one time contributed to the prosperity of piracy in these parts (XVII - early XIX century). The pirates simply waited for the ships in the narrowest place where they were pushed by the current. There was no way the sailors could get around this trap.
The strongest currents and tropical cyclones once destroyed many ships in the Florida Strait, and its bottom is literally strewn with them - from Spanish galleons to steamships. In 1622, during a storm, the Spanish squadron "Terra Firme", loaded with gold and precious stones, died here, and many divers dream of finding traces of it.
Interesting facts about conquering the Strait
Many stayers dream of swimming across the Strait of Florida, but so far only a few have succeeded. So, in 1997, an athlete from Australia, Susie Maroni, realized her old dream and conquered its smooth surface. True, she used a special cage to protect herself from sharks.
And in 2013, two new records were set at once. So, an athlete from America named Ben Freiberg crossed the strait on a surfboard. It took him 28 hours. Most of the time Freiberg spent in a standing position, and sat down only to have a bite to eat. The escort group consisted of the athlete's father, a doctor and a professional sailor who corrected the direction of the athlete's movement. She moved in parallel on a small boat.
In the same year, an American swimmer named Diana Nyad crossedSwim across the Strait of Florida in 53 hours. At the end of this tedious journey, her speed was 3 kilometers per hour. This achievement was recognized as a record because Diana did not use any additional devices, such as Susie Maroni's anti-shark cage.
This case is truly outstanding also for the reason that it was the fifth attempt of the athlete, and only she finally succeeded. Nyad first attempted to swim across the Straits of Florida at the age of 28 back in 1978! Of course, this time the athlete was well equipped: she was wearing gloves, special shoes and a wetsuit, as well as a mask to scare off jellyfish. In previous attempts, these unpleasant creatures really bothered her.
In closing
The article briefly talked about where the Florida Strait is located, presented its main characteristics, a brief history of discovery and interesting facts about this object. We hope the information will be useful for those who study geography or are simply interested in it.
