Alligator Reef
This reef was named for the ship that was lost here in 1822. The USS Alligator, an 86ft, 12-cannon schooner, was constructed in Boston for the U.S. Navy to combat slavery and piracy. After a few initial successes, the ship unfortunately ran aground on this reef and was blown up by the crew to keep it from falling into the hands of pirates.
A lighthouse was scheduled to be built on Alligator Reef in 1857, but was put off until after the Civil War. The existing lighthouse was finally completed in 1873. The buoy closest to the lighthouse marks the spot where ballast stones and other bits if the Alligator wreckage lie in about 10ft of water. The four buoys southeast of the lighthouse are aligned along the edge of the main reef.
The coral ridges at Alligator are somewhat flattened, forming an extensive system of low but deeply undercut ledges lined with encrusting sponges and corals. These ledges support a variety of invertebrates, including arrow crabs, spiny lobsters and Spanish lobsters. Caesar and French grunts are abundant, schooling atop the ledges or sheltering in their lee when a current is running. Depths here range from about 20ft on the back reef to 50ft on the seaward side.
Reproduced with permission from Diving & Snorkeling Florida Keys 2001 Lonely Plant Publications www.lonelyplanet.com