Perdido Key, Florida
| Perdido Key, Florida | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
| Nickname(s): Perdido, The Key | |
 Perdido
Key |
|
| Coordinates: 30°18′01″N 87°25′39″W / 30.30028°N 87.42750°WCoordinates: 30°18′01″N 87°25′39″W / 30.30028°N 87.42750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Escambia |
| City | City of Pensacola |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| Area code(s) | 850 |
| Website | www |
Perdido Key, Florida is an unincorporated community in Escambia County, Florida, United States, between Pensacola and Orange Beach, Alabama. "Perdido" means "lost" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The community is located on and named for Perdido Key, a barrier island in northwest Florida and southeast Alabama. The Florida district of the Gulf Islands National Seashore includes the east end of the island, as well as other Florida islands. No more than a few hundred yards wide in most places, Perdido Key stretches some 16 miles (26 km) from near Pensacola to Perdido Pass Bridge near Orange Beach.
From the beginning of the 17th century, Spanish and French explorers, imagining riches in the New World, began colonizing the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. A Spanish expedition from Vera Cruz, Mexico had settled on what became known as Santa Rosa Island on Panzacola Bay, named after the indigenous people, later known as the Pensacola Indians. Panzacola means "the village of hairy people." The French developed a settlement along the coast near Maubila (Mobile). They were competing in this area. Explorers from both countries had heard of a great mysterious body of water to the west of Pensacola, but they were unable to find the entrance.
In 1693 noted cartographer and scientist Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora was sent by the Spanish government to locate the entrance. Even after he located the mouth of the bay, he was unable to find a waterway deep enough to sail through. According to legend, Siquenza's ship had been blown off course as he was again searching for the pass into the deep inland waters. The ship was spotted by an Indian chief camped with his tribe at Bear Point. As the chief was walking next to the water, he spotted Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora attempting to reef his sails. He offered to guide Siquenza and his men to a connecting deep water channel from the Gulf of Mexico into the more tranquil bay. When the search party finally located the elusive bay, they called it Perdido, which in Spanish means "lost" or "hidden".
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