Hawk Channel
[10] The warm, nutrient-deficient waters that circulate through this exchange are conducive to the development of patch reefs 3 to 6 m (9.8 to 19.7 ft) deep off of Hawk Channel.
[11] The course along the channel is partially protected by a fringing barrier reef roughly 3 to 6 mi (4.8 to 9.7 km) offshore, limiting the effects of winds bearing northwest and sheltering the passage from the direct thrust of the Atlantic and Florida Straits.
Vessels will often use beacons on the Florida Reef as guides in order to navigate through the entrance of Hawk Channel beginning 10 mi (8.7 nmi; 16 km) south of Miami's Government Cut and 3 mi (2.6 nmi; 4.8 km) south of the southern tip of Key Biscayne, with the crossover between and Biscayne Bay averaging about 4.5 ft (1.4 m) in mean low water (mlw).
Most non-commercial vessels may avoid Hawk Channel due to effects of local currents and considerable commercial traffic in the Gulf Stream.
[15]The channel runs systemically with the Florida Current pushing water northward from the Atlantic with a velocity of 1.8 m/s (3.5 kn) and a mean transport of 30 Sv.
[18][19] Although the exact origins of the name remain largely uncertain, Hawk Channel has been a prominent site for birdwatching; the prolonged bird migration in the fall season goes on from early July until late November where large flights of broad-winged hawks, as well as merlins, and peregrine falcons, are predominant during the September–October migration.
On 15 May 1513, the Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de León, and his fleet sailed south from Biscayne Bay along Hawk Channel through the Florida Keys.
While charting the surrounding waters, he named the islands Los Martires ("The Martyrs"), as they reminded him of suffering men from a distance.
[22] In November 1822, the USS Alligator ran aground on a shallow reef off of Hawk Channel while escorting a convoy of merchant vessels.
[24] On 4 August 1984, the motor vessel Wellwood ran aground on the upper fore-reef on Molasses Reef southeast off of Key Largo in 6 metres of water, resulting in the destruction of 5,805 square meters of living corals.
