The most likely example is that the island was named after Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who wrote a detailed account of the 16th-century exploration of Florida.

[citation needed] Key Vaca is located geographically in the subtropics, but with a completely tropical climate.

Because of the proximity of the Gulf Stream to the southeast, and the tempering effects of the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north, Key Vaca has a notably mild, tropical-maritime climate,[4] (Köppen climate classification Aw, similar to the Caribbean islands).

[5] In the summer, temperatures are somewhat higher than in Key West, due to the island's proximity to the shallower waters of Florida Bay, which are heated more easily than the deeper waters of the Florida Strait, south of Key West.

The season is characterized by hot, humid conditions and sharp, sudden thunderstorms that often drop substantial amounts of rain on the island.

Originally intended to be a training field for pilots flying between Homestead and Miami, the airport was turned over to the county after the conclusion of the war.