The archipelago includes a high concentration of historically significant shipwrecks dating from the 17th century to the present. The plant hardiness zone at Loggerhead Key is 11a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 41.2 °F (5.1 °C). The large seabird colony, including sooty terns, brown noddy, masked booby and magnificent frigatebird, and the regular occurrence of Caribbean vagrant birds makes them a popular birding destination. The citation was contested in court the following year, and the resultant case, The United States of America v. Peter Anderson, was quickly dropped. View our ADA Accessibility Policy. [2] Activities include snorkeling, picnicking, birdwatching, camping, scuba diving, saltwater fishing and kayaking. The park is accessible only by seaplane or boat and has averaged about 63,000 visitors annually in the period from 2008 to 2017. During the 1880s, the Navy established a base in the Dry Tortugas, and it subsequently set up a coaling (refueling) and a wireless (radio) station there as well. Since then visitation has slowly declined, with an average of about 63,000 per year in the period from 2007 to 2016.[2].
They represent the westernmost extent of the Florida Keys, though several reefs and submarine banks continue westward outside the park, beyond the Tortugas. [10], Visiting the park by private boat is difficult because of its distance, so most visitors come by ferry or seaplane from Key West. We use cookies to give you the best experience.

Ponce de Leon discovered the Dry Tortugas in 1513 when he caught over 100 sea turtles there. 70 miles west of Key West, the Dry Tortugas is accessible only by a daily concession ferry, private boats, charter boats, or seaplane.

In all, there were close to 2,000 people at Fort Jefferson during its peak years. Snorkeling and Diving Dry Tortugas National Park is home to history and natural wonders above and below the water's’ surface. Seasonally there is little temperature variation, with high temperatures in summer around 90 °F (32 °C) and low temperatures in winter around 66 °F (19 °C).

[5], John James Audubon visited the Tortugas in 1832 and so did Louis Agassiz in 1858.[2]:25. Dreadful stories they were—about hanging, and walking the plank, and storms at sea, and the Dry Tortugas, and wild deeds and places on the Spanish Main.” Stevenson, Robert Louis (1884) Treasure Island, Roberts Brothers publishers. After the War of 1812 a group of forts from Maine to Texas was envisioned to provide defense for the United States of America. The name is the second oldest surviving European place-name in the US. The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the Florida Keys, United States, about 67 miles (108 km) west of Key West, and 37 miles (60 km) west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. With the end of hostilities in 1865, the fort’s population had declined to 1,013, consisting of 486 soldiers or civilians and 527 prisoners.

Fort Jefferson was designed to be a massive gun platform, impervious to assault, and able to destroy any enemy ships foolhardy enough to come within range of its powerful guns. [16], Florida was acquired from Spain by the United States in 1822. If you love Key West snorkeling, then Dry Tortugas National Park offers some of the best snorkeling and skin diving in North America, just 70 miles from Key West and the Florida Keys. Living quarters for soldiers and officers, gunpowder magazines, storehouses, and other buildings required to maintain the fort were located on the parade ground inside the fort’s massive brick walls.

In 1856 work on a new, more powerful lighthouse on Loggerhead Key was started to replace the Garden Key light.[16]. The archipelago's coral reefs are the least disturbed of the Florida Keys reefs. The location of the Tortugas along one the world’s busiest shipping lanes was its greatest military asset. The Dry Tortugas are also rich in maritime history. The most famous of these prisoners was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for his involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Common migratory warblers include the northern parula, American redstart, prairie warbler, hooded warbler, palm warbler, black-and-white warbler, common yellowthroat, yellow-rumped warbler, ovenbird, northern waterthrush, black-throated blue warbler, blackpoll warbler, and Cape May warbler, with more than 20 additional warbler species having shown up at least once. The Miami Limestone is less than 49 ft (15 m) thick, and in general, is found behind the Key Largo Limestone reef, but overlies it in the western extent of the keys. Ponce de León caught 160 sea turtles there and subsequently referred to the islands as the "Tortugas" (turtles). The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. Though used briefly during both world wars, the fort’s final chapter as … Work was half complete in 1860. Many birds land inside the parade grounds of Fort Jefferson where they are often observed at close range. Receiving and housing the migrants is a particular problem for Dry Tortugas, which has limited resources for such arrivals and which is several hours from the nearest Coast Guard or Border Patrol units. This use as a military prison continued until 1874. Not only are you surrounded by a vast expanse of sea, sky, sandy beaches, and coral reef, but you step into a park rich in history including a 19th century fort, The Civil War, and its most famous prisoner, Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned for his involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The location of the Tortugas along one the worlds busiest shipping lanes was its greatest military asset… Spanish explorer Ponce de León gave the Dry Tortugas their name on his first visit in 1513. Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson Ferry Service. The archipelago's name derives from the lack of fresh water springs, and the presence of turtles.

[8] The total land area within the park is 104 acres (0.2 sq mi; 0.4 km2).
Maintenance issues necessitated its removal, but a replacement water barrel is scheduled for installation in the fall of 2013.

p.5. Birdwatching activity peaks each spring (usually April) when dozens of migratory bird species can pass through the park in a single day. Failing to find anybody to accept the money to reopen the park, Key West residents, under the auspices of the satirical micronation Conch Republic, sent a flotilla of civilian boats and fire department boats to Fort Jefferson in order to reopen the national park. The following day, a Cessna airplane crashed into the water near the islands, killing cinematographer Neal Fredericks while he was filming scenery for the feature film CrossBones. At the time, there were 22 black slaves employed on the project. Communications with Key West are accomplished using a satellite-based voice-over-IP system, which is prone to garbling and delays, and by a radio relay system using an abandoned Air Force tower between Key West and the Dry Tortugas. Some keys have thin growths of mangroves, and various other vegetation, while others have only small patches of grass, or are devoid of plant life.

The Dry Tortugas were a significant American naval base from colonial times to the early 20th century, provi… The park's centerpiece is Fort Jefferson, a massive but unfinished coastal fortress. There is no large jungle or forest canopy area on the islands, and the sandy soil (which drains quickly) and intense sun only enhance the drought-like conditions often found on the islands. Overnight camping is limited to 8 primitive campsites at the Garden Key campground — located just south of Fort Jefferson. [3] They were given the name Las Tortugas ("The Turtles") due to 170 sea turtles taken on the islands and shoals by de León's men. Dr. Samuel Mudd, famous for being the doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth in the wake of the Lincoln assassination, was imprisoned here until early 1869. Abandoned by the Army in 1874, the fort was later used as a coaling station for warships. [24], 64,657 acres in Florida (US) managed by the National Park Service. When a cold front along Florida wiped out 96 percent of branching coral in 1976-77, once extensive branching coral formations became rubble fields. [4], In 1742 HMS Tyger wrecked in the Dry Tortugas. Between the Dry Tortugas and Key West is a 39 ft (12 m) thick example of these sand deposits, known as "the quicksands".

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