{ "id": "ep9cabpvvz", "slug": "dry-tortugas-national-park", "title": "Dry Tortugas National Park", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places" }, { "id": "places.sites", "label": "Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.sites" }, { "id": "places.sites.protected", "label": "Protected natural areas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.sites.protected" }, { "id": "places.sites.protected.national_parks_united_states", "label": "United States national parks and NPS units", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.sites.protected.national_parks_united_states" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.places.sites", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.places.sites", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.places" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.places.sites", "label": "Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.places.sites" } ] }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.places.sites", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.places.sites", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.places" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.places.sites", "label": "Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.places.sites" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Dry Tortugas National Park: remote 100-square-mile U.S. national park about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, with seven islands, Fort Jefferson (largest all-masonry fort in the Americas), coral reefs, seabird nesting keys, boat-or-seaplane-only access, and no fresh water.", "snippet": "Dry Tortugas National Park: remote 100-square-mile U.S. national park about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, with seven islands, Fort Jefferson (largest all-masonry fort in the Americas), coral reefs, seabird nesting keys, boat-or-seaplane-only access, and no fresh water.", "node": "places.sites.protected.national_parks_united_states", "markdown": "# Dry Tortugas National Park\n\n**Dry Tortugas National Park** is a United States national park located almost 70 miles (113 km) west of [Key West](https://www.edgepedia.org/key-west), Florida, protecting seven small islands and roughly 100 square miles of mostly open water at the western end of the [Florida Keys](https://www.edgepedia.org/florida-keys). Accessible only by boat or seaplane, it is known for Fort Jefferson, its coral reefs, marine life, and the seabird colonies that nest on its keys.[1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Location and size | Almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West; about 100 square miles, mostly open water, with seven small islands[1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm) |\n| Islands | Garden, Loggerhead, Bush, Long, East, Hospital, and Middle Keys[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) |\n| Park status | Proclaimed Fort Jefferson National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 4, 1935 (47,125 acres); expanded in 1983 and redesignated a national park by Congress on October 26, 1992[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) |\n| Fort Jefferson | Built 1846–1875, never completed; the largest all-masonry fort in the United States, with over 16 million bricks and 2,000 arches[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) • [1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm) |\n| Marine character | 99% water; a refuge for more than 700 species of fishes, birds, mammals, plants, and hard and soft corals[3](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/nrca_drto.htm) |\n| Access | Boat or seaplane only; no roads, no fresh water, and no public electricity, Wi-Fi, or cell service in the campground[1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm) • [4](https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/camping.htm) |\n| Coral disease response | Stony coral tissue loss disease reached the park in late spring 2021; divers treated 12,521 corals of 28 species with an antibiotic paste about 90% effective at stopping lesions[5](https://coralreef.noaa.gov/digital-corals/stories/aug23/underwater-medicine) |\n\n## Geography and purpose\n\nThe park sits at the edge of the main shipping channel between the Gulf of America, the western Caribbean, and the [Atlantic Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-ocean). Its low, flat islands and reefs posed a navigation hazard to ships passing through the 75-mile-wide straits between the gulf and the ocean, and the surrounding reefs have been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks.[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) The park's purposes are to safeguard the Dry Tortugas' island and marine ecosystems, to conserve Fort Jefferson along with underwater cultural resources such as shipwrecks, and to permit the public to visit under regulated conditions.[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm)\n\nAlthough Dry Tortugas is principally a marine park, with 99% of its area covered by water, its seven islands provide habitat for nesting and migratory birds and beaches for nesting sea turtles.[3](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/nrca_drto.htm) Oceanographic conditions near the park are shaped by the convergence of several ocean current systems, which connect the park's reefs to those of the Florida Keys and the Florida mainland.[6](https://irmadev.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2187587)\n\n## Fort Jefferson\n\nFort [Jefferson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jefferson), on Garden Key, was built between 1846 and 1875 to protect one of the most strategic deepwater anchorages in North America. Supply and subsidence problems and the Civil War delayed construction, and the fort was never completed: planners feared that additional bricks and cannon would further stress the structure and its cistern system. Its distinguishing features include decorative brickwork and 2,000 arches.[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) The National Park Service describes it as the largest masonry structure in the Americas, composed of over 16 million bricks.[1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm)\n\nThe fort was a vital link in the Third System, a chain of coastal forts stretching from Maine to California, and though it was never attacked, Union warships used its harbor during the Civil War to blockade Southern shipping. The fort functioned as a military jail as well, holding chiefly Union deserters; among its inmates, the best known was Dr. [Samuel Mudd](https://www.edgepedia.org/samuel-mudd), the doctor who treated the fractured leg of [John Wilkes Booth](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-wilkes-booth). The Army abandoned the fort in 1874, and it later served as a coaling station; in 1898 the USS Maine departed the Tortugas on its final voyage to Havana, Cuba.[7](https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/fort-jefferson.htm)\n\nTwo lighthouses marked the hazardous reefs: one built on Garden Key in 1825, and a brick tower lighthouse on [Loggerhead Key](https://www.edgepedia.org/loggerhead-key) built in 1858.[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm)\n\n## Marine ecosystems and condition\n\nThe park's waters contain seagrasses, coral reefs, and hard bottom that support more than 400 species of reef fish, including tuna, grouper, and sharks.[8](https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/assessing-biogeography-conditions-marine-protected-area-efficacy-dry-tortugas/) A 2018 Natural Resource Condition Assessment identified seven key resources, seagrass communities, terrestrial vegetation, stony corals, spiny lobster, queen conch and long-spined sea urchin, reef fish and sharks, sea turtles, and birds, and judged the park's natural resources to be in moderate condition overall. Seagrass, the lobster-conch-urchin group, and sea turtles were in good condition; terrestrial vegetation, reef fish and sharks, and birds were of moderate concern; and stony corals were rated a significant concern. Global warming and sea level rise were identified as major threats to several resources.[3](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/nrca_drto.htm)\n\n**Coral disease.** [Stony coral tissue loss disease](https://www.edgepedia.org/stony-coral-tissue-loss-disease), an infectious water-borne disease that affects hard coral species, was first identified in the park in May 2021 and positively confirmed at two locations by July 2021, at the far western end of Florida's Coral Reef.[9](https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/nature/corals.htm) A rapid response led by [Nova Southeastern University](https://www.edgepedia.org/nova-southeastern-university) coral biologists with [National Park Service](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-park-service) staff mounted three intervention cruises using liveaboard research vessels. Divers spent over 546 hours underwater covering a reef area equivalent to 91 soccer fields, applying an amoxicillin paste directly to disease lesions; the treatment is around 90% effective at stopping lesion progression. In all, 12,521 corals representing 28 species were treated, and the tissue saved was estimated as equivalent to over 331,000 coral outplants.[5](https://coralreef.noaa.gov/digital-corals/stories/aug23/underwater-medicine) The park is home to nine species of threatened coral, including elkhorn coral (*Acropora palmata*).[9](https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/nature/corals.htm)\n\n## Marine protection and research\n\nIn 2001, state and federal agencies established the Tortugas Ecological Reserve to protect extensive shallow-water coral reefs off the Florida Keys. A NOAA-led assessment of the reserve's first five years found that commercial and recreational fishers experienced no short-term financial losses from its implementation, that reef fish catch from the Tortugas area increased after implementation, and that the region likely saw an early increase in the biomass of exploited species. The reserve showed consistently higher coral cover than Dry Tortugas National Park and other unprotected sites, although a review of other studies showed an overall reduction in live coral cover across the Tortugas region over a 15-year period.[8](https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/assessing-biogeography-conditions-marine-protected-area-efficacy-dry-tortugas/) Within the park itself, the Research Natural Area is a no-take marine reserve whose monitoring is coordinated between the National Park Service and the [Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/florida-fish-and-wildlife-conservation-commission).[10](https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/818)\n\nNOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and its partners conduct long-term reef monitoring in the park, documenting climate-driven impacts including thermal stress and ocean acidification in support of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program.[11](https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/monitoring-reefs-in-the-dry-tortugas/)\n\n## Shipwrecks and submerged heritage\n\nThe reefs around the Dry Tortugas have claimed hundreds of vessels, and the park protects more than 300 sunken ships; one of the most accessible, the Windjammer Wreck, can be dived or snorkeled.[2](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm) • [1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm) In 2024, National Park Service archaeologists announced that a wreck first spotted in 1993 near the park is HMS Tyger, a British 50-gun frigate built in 1647 that sank in 1742 after running aground during the [War of Jenkins' Ear](https://www.edgepedia.org/war-of-jenkins-ear). About 300 crew members were marooned for more than two months on what is now Garden Key, where they erected fortifications more than a century before Fort Jefferson, built seagoing vessels from salvaged timber, and sailed 700 miles to British-controlled Port Royal, Jamaica. The findings were published in the *International Journal of Nautical Archaeology*.[12](https://apnews.com/article/cd4ccdf59eac71d3c5458ead84108d7b)\n\n## Visiting\n\nThe park has no roads; access is by private vessel, the Yankee Freedom commercial ferry from Key West, permitted tour guides, or seaplane. The seaplane does not carry campers, and the ferry is limited to 10 camping passengers per day, with reservations selling out months in advance.[1](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm) • [4](https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/camping.htm) Camping is restricted to Garden Key, where regular sites hold up to six people each on a first-come, first-served basis at $15 per night, and a group site for 10 to 20 people costs $30 per night. Campers must bring all supplies, including water and food in hard-sided containers to protect against rats, and must carry out all trash; there is no fresh water, no public showers, and no cell service or electric hookups.[4](https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/camping.htm)\n\n**Current closures.** Sections of the moat wall around Fort Jefferson damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 are undergoing repair and are closed until Winter 2026. Most of Bush Key has reopened, but a small area on its north side, all of Long Key, and all vegetation remain closed to protect nesting frigatebirds.[13](https://home.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/conditions.htm) Under the Superintendent's Compendium, Bird Key Harbor is the designated anchorage for commercial fishing vessels under Coast Guard and NPS regulations.[14](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/management/superintendent-s-compendium.htm)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm)\n2. [History & Culture, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/index.htm)\n3. [Natural Resource Condition Assessments for Dry Tortugas National Park, NPS Science](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/nrca_drto.htm)\n4. [Camping, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/camping.htm)\n5. [Using underwater medicine to prevent disease-related mortality on corals in Dry Tortugas National Park, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program](https://coralreef.noaa.gov/digital-corals/stories/aug23/underwater-medicine)\n6. [Assessment of natural resource conditions in and adjacent to Dry Tortugas National Park, NPS DataStore](https://irmadev.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2187587)\n7. [Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/historyculture/fort-jefferson.htm)\n8. [Assessing Biogeography, Conditions, and Marine Protected Area Efficacy in the Dry Tortugas, NOAA NCCOS](https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/assessing-biogeography-conditions-marine-protected-area-efficacy-dry-tortugas/)\n9. [Corals, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/drto/learn/nature/corals.htm)\n10. [Implementing the Dry Tortugas National Park Research Natural Area Science Plan: The 5-Year Report, NOAA Repository](https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/818)\n11. [Monitoring Reefs in the Dry Tortugas, NOAA/AOML Expedition 39](https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/monitoring-reefs-in-the-dry-tortugas/)\n12. [Vessel off Florida Keys identified as British warship that sank in the 18th century, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/cd4ccdf59eac71d3c5458ead84108d7b)\n13. [Current Conditions, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://home.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/conditions.htm)\n14. [Superintendent's Compendium, Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service)](https://home.nps.gov/drto/learn/management/superintendent-s-compendium.htm)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites › Protected natural areas › United States national parks and NPS units*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Dry Tortugas National Park\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Dry Tortugas National Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park](https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Dry Tortugas National Park\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dry-tortugas-national-park. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Dry Tortugas National Park: remote 100-square-mile U.S. national park about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, with seven islands, Fort Jefferson, coral reefs, seabird nesting keys, boat-or-seaplane-only access, and no fresh water." }