The Elbow

The Elbow is a reef in the Upper Florida Keys, marked by a 36-foot (11 m) light tower and set within a Sanctuary Preservation Area. Depths run from about 18 to 70 feet (5 to 21 m), and the reef is built of coral fingers in a spur-and-groove pattern, with sand channels, ledges and coral heads.

Several wrecks lie around the tower. The City of Washington went aground in 1911 and is the most intact ship here, on the east-northeast side of the tower, and it is a good spot for snorkelling. The Hannah M. Bell, known as Mike's Wreck, lies close by in 18 to 25 feet (5.5 to 7.5 m) of water. The so-called Civil War wreck near the tower is almost gone apart from piles of timber with bronze fastening pins, but its small area is full of colourful fish and invertebrates. The Tonawanda, a 300-foot (91 m) steam freighter that sank in 1866, lies in 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m). You can also find a 25 to 35 foot anchor chain in 25 feet (7.5 m) of water, a concrete mooring block, and a train wheel with part of another wreck at 20 to 30 feet.

The deepest part is the southern section, marked by a buoy, where the bottom slopes to Nelson's Ledge and then drops more steeply to sand at 85 feet (26 m). Giant barrel sponges, brain corals and star corals cover the bottom there.