Dry Tortugas National Park, National park in Florida Keys, United States.
Dry Tortugas National Park is an archipelago of seven low coral islands about 113 kilometers west of Key West, with more than 99 percent of its 262 square kilometers under water. On Garden Key stands Fort Jefferson, an unfinished coastal fortress of over 16 million bricks, the largest brick masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. A small white marker stands among the shrubs on one low sandy strip.
Juan Ponce de León gave the islands their name in the 16th century after finding numerous sea turtles in the surrounding waters. Construction of the fort began in 1846 as part of a coastal defense strategy and remained unfinished through the American Civil War.
The islands carry names like Garden Key and Loggerhead Key, referencing the wildlife early explorers found here. Visitors can walk through the thick brick walls of the fort and notice how the architecture adapted to tropical heat and humidity.
Getting there requires advance booking, as only ferries and seaplanes from Key West provide connections. Overnight stays mean camping, since no shops or lodging exist on the islands.
The park's reefs have been called the least disturbed of the Florida Keys, and about 250 ship losses have been documented around the Dry Tortugas through archival research. Systematic underwater survey began in 1993 under the National Park Service's Submerged Cultural Resources Unit, recording wrecks and salvage traces.
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