The physical arrangement and ecology of Florida coast is quite amazing.
In the above picture, as you move from right to left, you start with Atlantic ocean and first encounter a thin strip of land. This strip of land is less than half mile wide. Then you encounter the first lagoon which is followed by an island. The locks shown in the picture connect this lagoon with the ocean, as you can see. This facilitates the movement of cruise ships and other large ships to access points along the island. Several important military, space and civilian ports are located along the eastern shore of this island. Due to the Locks, the the ships don't have to travel several hundred miles south to cross the first thin strip of land to reach their destination.
A geographical explanation of lagoonInterestingly enough, this lagoon is named
Banana River. It is home to a variety of wild life both in the water and on the land. I went on a 2 hour nature watch boat trip. I saw many creatures, but it was difficult to capture any one of them with a tiny digital camera. I did get some and will definitely share them here. BTW, the uninhabited island I posted a couple of days ago is also situated in this lagoon.
Coming back to our satellite map, the island in the middle is about 2 miles wide. Then you encounter yet another lagoon, but this one's shores are not left wild. It's only after crossing this second lagoon that one reaches Florida main land.
One can use the search phrase "canaveral, FL" in google maps to explore this area.
Have fun.
