About Biscayne Bay
The following information is taken from A Bright, Great Bay, a summary document from the Biscayne Bay Partnership Initiative. (pdf 1.3mb) Introduction Whatever the origins of its name, Biscayne Bay is and always has been a “bright, great bay” that has attracted explorers, adventurers, residents, and tourists. Not only is it a source for food, transportation, and commerce, it also offers boundless opportunities for recreation, education, and spiritual nourishment to those who visit and live near it. Biscayne Bay is the largest estuary on the coast of southeast Florida and is contiguous with the southern Florida Everglades and Florida Bay. It encompasses a marine ecosystem that totals approximately 428 square miles. Its drainage area is 938 square miles, of which 350 are freshwater and coastal wetlands in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe Counties. It is home to Biscayne National Park, the largest marine park in the national park system, Oleta River State Park, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, Barnacle State Historic Site, and numerous local parks. Indeed, Biscayne Bay is many things to many people. It supports important sport and commercial fisheries. It is a source of environmental education and recreation. Its waters and shores are favored for sailing, boating, snorkeling, swimming, bay viewing, and sunbathing. More importantly, the bay is ecologically significant, supporting and nurturing an enormous variety of wildlife. Biscayne Bay is part of a large south Florida ecosystem and relies upon water that flows directly from the Everglades, through the Biscayne Bay watershed, and into the bay. The recent passage by the United States Congress of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and the planning and implementation of other regional land and water management efforts, have focused attention and resources on problems facing the Everglades and the south Florida ecosystem. It is critically important that as these processes go forward, planning and decisions be made within the context of the broad south Florida ecosystem, including Biscayne Bay. As we begin the new millennium, we have many opportunities to find new and better ways to enhance the bay’s health and its strength as an environmental and economic resource. The challenge is to achieve the delicate balance between maintaining, protecting, and restoring the natural systems that keep the bay ecologically healthy and productive, and dealing with the needs of growing numbers of people who want to use and enjoy it. |
In
1513, Juan Ponce de Leon sailed south from his earlier landing in
St. Augustine and found a “bright nameless great bay…and
fresh springs in the rocks.” There are several stories about
how the great nameless bay came to be called Biscayne Bay. Most
assume that it is a variation of the Bay of Biscay, in the Atlantic
Ocean north of Spain and west of France. Others maintain that the
bay got its name because of a 1500s wreck in the bay of a ship owned
by a man called El Biscaino. Another theory holds that the bay was
so named after Don Pedro el Biscaino, who lived on one of the islands
in the bay and had been the Keeper of the Swans at the Spanish court.
Still others believe that the bay was named for Viscaino, who is
said to have been a wealthy merchant in Manila. 
The
bay is also the location of the Port of Miami, one of the largest
passenger and commercial ports of call in the world. In addition,
the Miami River, one of the largest tributaries to the bay, is a
working river and is Florida’s fifth largest port and the primary
service area of international trade to the Caribbean. The Miami
River is also home to some of Miami’s most historic and scenic
neighborhoods.