Physical Characteristics. Monroe County consists of the southwest tip of the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys. These coral and limestone islands stretch 100 miles into the Straits of Florida separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico. Monroe County's land boundaries are Dade and Collier counties. The county has 1034.10 square miles of land and 413.95 square miles of water for a total of 1448.05 square miles. The average January temperature is 69.9 degrees fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 83.6 degrees fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 38.03 inches.
History. Monroe County was established in 1823 from a portion of St. Johns County and named for President James Monroe, fifth president of the U.S. In 1513 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sailed past the keys. For the next three centuries, the keys became a haven for pirates and adventurers. Many English-speaking settlers came to the keys from the Grand Bahamas, and by 1821, when the U.S. acquired Florida, Key West was the state's most populous city.
