Alligator Reef
Alligator Reef is a huge reef system in the Upper Keys, accessible from Islamorada, and Windley Key. There are over 500 species of marine life at Alligator Reef. Depths range from 20 to 40 and 70 feet, so it’s good for novice divers. Alligator Reef is a Sanctuary Preserve Area, so no fishing or lobstering here. There are buoys and a wreck here, the USS Alligator. Alligator Reef is easy to find because there’s a lighthouse tower there, with its top still intact. The entire reef system here arose from the wreck, which went down in 1820.
The USS Alligator has an honorable past: it was built specifically to halt the slave trade on the high seas. She also rescued American sailors held for ransom by pirates and sailed as far as Africa to capture slave trading vessels. During a trip from Cuba to Virginia, while traveling in a flotilla, she was forced to tack back and forth in order to keep slower pace with the slower vessels. She crashed into the reef but was not damaged very much. But wind pushed her further onto the reef, where she subsequently began to broke apart, so was set afire after cargo and men were off ship.
The wreck now lies close off shore from Islamorada and is frequently visited by divers. You can find wreckage in very shallow water, even snorkeling depths. The lower hull and some ballast piles sit on sand and coral rubble bottom.