Dry Tortugas National Park (redirected from Fort Jefferson)

Dry Tortugas National Park: see under Dry Tortugas.

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Dry Tortugas National Park

National park located on the Dry Tortugas islands, southwestern Florida, U.S. The islands are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, west of Key West, Fla. Established in 1935 as Fort Jefferson National Park, it occupies an area of about 64,700 acres (26,200 hectares). Its current name was adopted in 1992. The park's principal features are a marine exhibit and the remains of fortifications built in 1846.

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Dry Tortugas National Park

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Parks

Address: PO Box 6208
Key West, FL 33041
Phone: 305-242-7700;
Fax: 305-242-7711;
Web: www.nps.gov/drto/
Size: 64,701 acres.
Established: Proclaimed on January 4, 1935. Name changed from Fort Jefferson National Monument on October 26, 1992.
Location: 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. Accessible only by boat or seaplane.
Facilities: Campground (é), picnic area, rest rooms (é), visitor center, museum/exhibit, self-guided tour/trail.
Activities: Camping, swimming, boating, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, bird-watching, interpretive programs.
Special Features: Park is a cluster of seven small keys, with less than 40 acres of dry land. Fort Jefferson on Garden Key is the largest all-masonry fortification in the Western world, built in 1846-1866 to help control the Florida Straits. It served as a federal military prison during and after the Civil War. Bush Key is also home to some 100,000 sooty terns between March and September for their nesting season.

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See other parks in Florida.