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October 1999
Florida - Tortugas National Park
David Aaronson2005-09-23 23:03:36
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If you head west by boat from Key West for about two hours, you'll see Fort Jefferson (pictured above) rising out of the water, and looking for all the world like it really just shouldn't be there. Nevertheless, it is; the only structure other than a few lighthouses to be found in the Dry Tortugas. The Tortugas are a collection of seven islands, some of which are really just glorified sandbars. There is no fresh water to be found on the islands, hence the moniker 'dry', and they have a permanent human population of 0. The waters are beautifully clear however: The pictures of the conch on the background and the stingray here (look carefully) were both taken looking down into the water from the fort's moat wall.
The Dry Tortugas are the least visited national park in the United States. Partially because they can only be reached by boat or seaplane from Key West, and partially because they are not particularly hospitable. Fort Jefferson takes up about 90% of the key it is located on, leaving just enough room for a small campground and a boat dock. Most of the other keys are restricted as wildlife refuges or bird breeding grounds.
Speaking of the campground, this was our tent site. Melanie, Lisa and Mike are relaxing between snorkelling trips. Reef surrounds three sides of the island and the moat wall has become a coral reef of sorts as well, harboring a variety of tropical fish. We also saw nurse sharks, ghost crabs (by the thousands), and an enormous spotted eagle ray.
The fort was originally intended as part of a strategic line of forts which would stretch down the east coast of the US and into the Gulf of Mexico. However, by the time it was finished it was obsolete and it was used then as a prison. Its most famous prisoner was Dr. Mudd, the man who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Lincoln. For scale purposes, that's Melanie in the foreground near the palm
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See photographs from:
United States Gallery
