The Miami Rock Ridge is a continuous limestone outcropping which formerly encompassed a large extent of far southern Florida, including portions of the Everglades ecosystem. The traditional base of the elevation ranges from northern Dade County (the approximate latitude of North Miami Beach) southward to the upper Florida Keys, and it extends southwest into Everglades National Park and Long Pine Key. The coastal ridge was traditionally a component of the endangered pine rocklands, which grew upon the length of the ridge. The environmental community consisted of a large and continuous expanse of South Florida Slash Pines (Pinus elliottii var. densa), which was interspersed by tropical hardwood hammocks. The globally imperiled pine rockland community, which also encompassed the Florida Keys