Editing Captiva, Florida (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Hurricane Charley Captiva Damage.jpg|thumb|Damage on Captiva Island from [[Hurricane Charley]]]]
Captiva is located in western Lee County at {{coord|26|31|5|N|82|11|28|W|type:city}} (26.518028, -82.191057).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> The CDP comprises the entire island, bordered to the west by the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and to the east by [[Pine Island Sound]]. Captiva Drive is the main road on the island, running from the town center south to the Blind Pass bridge to Sanibel. It is a {{convert|13|mi|adj=on}} drive from Captiva to the [[Sanibel Causeway]] and a total of {{convert|31|mi}} by road from Captiva to the center of [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Captiva CDP has a total area of {{convert|4.3|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|3.1|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|1.2|km2|order=flip}}, or 28.15%, are water.<ref name=Gazetteer>{{cite web| url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_12.txt| title=U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Florida| website=U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division| access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref>

Originally part of neighboring [[Sanibel, Florida|Sanibel Island]] to the southeast, it was severed in 1926 when a [[tropical cyclone|hurricane]]'s [[storm surge]] created a new channel, [[Blind Pass]]. The channel filled in over subsequent years, but was reopened by dredging in the summer of 2009.  Like Sanibel, Captiva is a [[barrier island]] to [[Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)|Pine Island]] (to the east of Captiva and north of Sanibel), however it is much narrower. The only automobile access to Captiva is via the [[Sanibel Causeway]] and Sanibel-Captiva Road, which ends in the [[Census-designated place|CDP]] of Captiva, the island's only CDP. Captiva was homesteaded in 1888 and a tiny cemetery next to The Chapel by the Sea has the grave of the original resident, William Herbert Binder (1850–1932), an Austrian. Half the island is in private ownership, with "Millionaire's Row", luxury homes on the gulf and bay sides of Captiva Drive. The [[South Seas Island Resort]] entry gate is at the end of this road. Roosevelt Channel on the east side of the island, is named for [[Theodore Roosevelt]] who fished there.

[[North Captiva Island]] or Upper Captiva is another island, in turn severed from Captiva in a 1921 hurricane, creating [[Redfish Pass]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Erickson|first=Nick|date=2021-04-06|title=Captiva Island History|url=https://capturingcaptiva.com/area-information/captiva-island-history/|access-date=2022-02-04|website=Capturing Captiva|language=en-US}}</ref> North Captiva has power from lines that originate on the north end of Captiva, and is privately owned. The island can only be accessed via boat or small plane.

Captiva was seriously damaged in August 2004 when the eastern [[eye (cyclone)|eyewall]] of [[Hurricane Charley]] struck North Captiva, immediately before hitting [[Charlotte Harbor (estuary)|Charlotte Harbor]] to the north-northeast. Initial reports indicated that 160 buildings were destroyed and another 160 seriously damaged. Reports indicate that the [[storm surge]] cut a path {{convert|491|yd|m|0}} wide across the narrowest part of North Captiva, separating the island. The separation of the two halves of the island began three years earlier during a series of tornadoes caused by [[Hurricane Gabrielle (2001)|Tropical Storm Gabrielle]] that passed through the area in September 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/charley/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401050410/http://coastal.er.usgs.gov:80/hurricanes/charley/trees.html|archive-date=2016-04-01|access-date=2023-08-03|title=Hurricane Charley, Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms}}</ref> The new pass filled in within a few years and is now back to its pre-Charley state.  Most of the invasive Australian pines on the island blew over in the hurricane, making room for native mangroves and sabal palms.

In September 2022, Category 4 [[Hurricane Ian]] made landfall in Upper Captiva with sustained winds of 150&nbsp;mph. The Sanibel Causeway was heavily damaged by the hurricane.