Sanibel Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida USA, just offshore of Fort Myers. Located within Lee County, Sanibel is a barrier island — a collection of sand on the leeward side of the Gulf Stream from the more solid coral-rock of Pine Island.
The city of Sanibel incorporates the entire island, with most of the town proper at the east end of the island. The community of Santiva is at the northwestern end of the island. After the causeway was built to replace the ferry in the 1963 the residents fought back against overdevelopment by incorporating the island as a city in 1974.
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[edit] Ecology
The island's curved shrimp-like shape forms Tarpon Bay on the north side of the island. It is linked to the mainland by the Sanibel Causeway, which runs across two small islets and the Intracoastal Waterway. A short bridge links Sanibel Island to Captiva Island over Blind Pass. The beaches are excellent on both islands, and are world renowned for their excellent variety of seashells, which include coquinas, scallops, whelks, sand dollars, and other deeper-water mollusks, both univalve and bivalve. The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the study of shells.
Sanibel Island is home to a good variety of birds, including the Roseate Spoonbill and several nesting pairs of Bald Eagles. Birds can be seen on the beaches, the causeway islands, and the reserves, including J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Common sights include pelicans, herons, egrets, and Anhingas, as well as the more common birds like terns, sandpipers, and of course seagulls. There is a population of American Alligators, and a lone rare American Crocodile has been seen at the refuge as well. Plants on the island include the native sea grape, sea oats, mangroves, and several types of palm trees.
[edit] History
Sanibel and Captiva formed as one island about 6000 years ago. The first humans in the area were the ancestors to the Calusa, who arrived about 2500 years ago. The Calusa were a powerful Indian nation who came to dominate most of southwest Florida through trade and their elaborate system of canals and waterways. Sanibel remained an important Calusa settlement until the collapse of their empire, soon after the arrival of the Europeans.
The name "Sanibel" probably derives from "(Santa) Ybel", which survives in the old placename "Point Ybel", where the Sanibel Island Light is located. How it got this name, however is a matter of conjecture. One story says it was named by Juan Ponce de León for Queen Ysabel (Isabella) of Castile; the island may indeed be named for this queen or the saint whose name she shares, either by Ponce de León or someone later. Another tale says it was named by Roderigo Lopez, the first mate of José Gaspar (Gasparilla), after his beautiful lover Sanibel whom he had left behind in Spain. Like most of the lore surrounding Gasparilla, however, this story is apocryphal, and the island appears as "Sanibel" or some variant on a number of maps dating to well before the supposed reign of the fearsome buccaneer.
Like the nearby islands of Captiva, Useppa, and Gasparilla, Sanibel figure prominently in the legends of Gaspar and his ally-turned-rival Black Caesar. According to folklore, Black Caesar was a former Haitian slave who escaped during the Haitian Revolution and became a pirate. To avoid interference from the British during the War of 1812 he came to the Gulf of Mexico where he became friends with Gasparilla. Gasparilla allowed him to set up on Sanibel Island, but when the old Spaniard discovered Caesar had been stealing from him, he chased him off, but not before his loot had been buried.
Legendary pirate's dens aside, the first modern settlement on Sanibel was established by the Florida Peninsular Land Company in 1832. The colony never took off, and was abandoned by 1849 for unknown reasons. The island was re-populated after the implementation of the Homestead Act in 1862, prompting the need for a lighthouse to guide the increasing number of ships. The Sanibel Lighthouse was constructed in 1884, but the community remained small. In 1963 the causeway was built linking Sanibel and Captiva to the mainland, resulting in an explosion of growth. The City of Sanibel passed new restrictions on development after it was incorporated; these were challenged by developers, to no avail. Currently the only buildings on the island taller than two stories date before 1974. There are no fast food restaurants allowed on the island except Dairy Queen.
[edit] Hurricanes
Southwest Florida rarely takes a direct strike by hurricanes, but every 20 or so years it takes a significant hit, and about every 40 years a major one. Most of these have had an impact on Sanibel.
In 2004, Sanibel Island was hit hard on August 13 by Hurricane Charley, a category four hurricane and the strongest to hit southwest Florida since Hurricane Donna in September 1960. While much of the vegetation native to the island survived, the stately but non-native Australian pines suffered serious damage, blocking nearly every road. Wildlife officials were also concerned that nests of birds and sea turtles were destroyed. The Sanibel Lighthouse survived with little damage, and the Sanibel Causeway suffered relatively minor damage, save for a toll booth tilted partly over, and erosion of a small seawall. Blind Pass was again cut through, but refilled less than one month later.
