History
Listed on early maps as "Boca Ratones," many people assume the name is simply translated to "Rat's Mouth". The Spanish word Boca (or mouth) was often used to describe an inlet, while Raton (literally mouse) was used by Spanish sailors to describe rocks that gnawed at a ship's cable or as a term for a cowardly thief. The name Boca Ratones originally appeared on eighteenth century maps associated with an inlet in the Biscayne Bay area of Miami. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the term was mistakenly moved north to its current location on most maps and applied to Lake Boca Raton, whose inlet was closed at the time.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city
has a total area of 75.4 km² (29.1 mi²). 70.4 km² (27.2 mi²) of it is land and 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²) of it (6.63%) is water. Boca Raton is a 'principal city' (as
defined by the Census Bureau) of the South Florida metropolitan area. Like most south Florida cities, Boca Raton has a water table that does not permit
building basements, but there are several high points in the city, such as 4th Avenue which is aptly named "High Street." The highest point in this area
is the guard shack at Camino Gardens, which is 24 ft (7.3 m) above sea level. The Boca Raton Hotel's Beach Club rests at 23 ft (7.0 m) above sea
level.
Several small tunnels run under roads in Boca, but the roads are built up several feet at these locations, or are
located on dunes. Several of these tunnels are under State Road A1A at Spanish River Park, from the west side of the road where parking is available to
beachgoers, to the east side of the road, which is where the beach is located. A1A is already higher than the surrounding land here due to sand dunes
formed by erosion and other natural features.
History