Visitors from around the globe journey to the Dry Tortugas. A variety of remarkable experiences await those who arrive. Whether you find yourself camping, snorkeling, bird watching, fishing, or just enjoying a view from the top of massive Fort Jefferson– you quickly realize how magical this place can be…
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Along with the surrounding shoals and waters, they make up Dry Tortugas National Park. The area is known for its famous bird and marine life, its legends of pirates and sunken gold, and its military past.
Fort Jefferson served for a time as a remote prison facility. One of its most famous inmates was none other than Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of President Lincoln. Mudd was incarcerated on the Dry Tortugas for only four years, from 1865 to 1869.
The USS Maine would make a brief stop at Fort Jefferson before its ill-fated voyage to Havana. Following the sinking of the Maine, the Dry Tortugas served as an important staging area for U.S. battleships during the Spanish-American War.
The Dry Tortugas National Park protects the southwest tip of South Florida’s coral reef tract. This represents the third-largest barrier reef system outside of Australia and Belize!
Snorkeling is a great way to immerse yourself in the underwater world of the Dry Tortugas. Many wrecks and patch reefs lie in relatively shallow water and are easy to access.
The park’s coral and sea grass communities are among the most vibrant in the Florida Keys. The sooty Tern finds its only regular U.S. nesting site on Bush Key, adjacent to Fort Jefferson.
Large sea turtles lumber onto the parks protected beaches each summer to bury their clutches of eggs. These and other wonders make this park a truly one-of-a-kind place!
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