The central city of Miami covers a land area of 91.9 sq km (35.5 sq mi). Miami took its name from the Miami River, which in turn was named for a Native American term believed to mean “big water”. The Miami River empties into Biscayne Bay (an arm of the Atlantic) at the heart of what is now the central business district. To the northeast of this point lies a series of neighborhoods and inner suburbs along Biscayne Bay, including Buena Vista; Miami Shores; North Miami Beach; and further east across the bay, Miami Beach and the oceanside suburbs to its north. To the south lie the luxury high-rise condominiums of bayfront Brickell Avenue and the offshore island suburb of Key Biscayne. The metropolitan area's huge southwestern quadrant contains Miami's Little Havana, a predominately Cuban neighborhood, and affluent Coconut Grove. Beyond these neighborhoods lie middle-to-upper-income residential developments that stretch from the city of Coral Gables, which adjoins Miami, for more than 30 km (more than 20 mi) through Kendall to the edges of the Everglades. The northwestern quadrant contains most of Miami's black neighborhoods, Cuban-dominated Hialeah, and an outer ring of affluent suburbs, again reaching to the Everglades' perimeter.
Parks and recreational areas line much of the metropolitan region's coastal zone. These include the beaches of Miami Beach, Key Biscayne's Crandon Park, and Coral Gables' Matheson-Hammock County Park. The inland zone also has a number of such facilities, including MetroZoo, Tropical Park, and Tamiami Park.
