Ten Thousand Islands

The Ten Thousand Islands are a chain of islands and mangrove islets off the coast of southwest Florida, between Cape Romano (at the southern end of Marco Island) and the mouth of Lostman's River. Some of the islands are high spots on a submergent coastline. Others were produced by mangroves growing on oyster bars. Despite the name, the islets in the chain only number in the hundreds.GeographyThe northern part of the Ten Thousand Islands, between Cape Romano and Everglades City, is in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The southern part of the Ten Thousands Islands, south of Everglades City, is in Everglades National Park. The 99-mile long Wilderness Waterway begins at Everglades City and ends at Flamingo at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. Administrative control of the islands is split between Collier County and Monroe County.ArchaeologyThe Ten Thousand Islands were used and occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years. Evidence of former living sites can be found under as much as four feet of water. A number of shell rings and other shell complexes have been identified in or adjacent to the Ten Thousand Islands. The Horr's Island archaeological site at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands was occupied year-round 3,500 years ago, and other sites are presumed to have been inundated by a rise in sea level. The material culture of the Indians living in the Ten Thousand Islands was distinctive enough to be classified as, at least, a sub-area of the Glades culture area.