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Dry Tortugas National Park
9781467104210
Regular price $23.99 Sale price $17.99 Save 25%
Isolated 70 miles west of Key West, the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park appear to arise as if by magic, floating atop the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Discovered by Juan Ponce de León over 500 years ago, Tortugas is North America’s second-oldest persistent place name. The adjacent Florida Strait provided essential passageway for navies, ships of commerce, pirates, and privateers. Its reefs claimed hundreds of ships over the centuries. The nation’s largest masonry fort, Fort Jefferson, secured Union control of the Florida Strait during the Civil War and served as the infamous prison for Dr. Samuel Mudd and other convicted Lincoln conspirators. Its waters, coral reefs, and aquatic life remain among the most biologically intact in North America. Seabird species nest here that nest nowhere else on the continent. The Tortugas has attracted generations of naturalists, scientists, fishermen, divers, birders, and other visitors. The islands and waters of the Dry Tortugas remain today remote, historic, and biologically pristine.
Everglades National Park
9781467107280
Regular price $23.99 Sale price $17.99 Save 25%
Vast, mysterious, and inaccessible for centuries, the Everglades is famous worldwide. Much of this unique landscape is protected within Everglades National Park, as are exotically named places such as Flamingo, Ten Thousand Islands, Florida Bay, Anhinga Trail, Shark Valley, and Pahayokee. Dedicated in 1947, the park receives nearly a million visitors in most years who come to experience the Everglades and its alligators, crocodiles, Florida panthers, anhingas, roseate spoonbills, and egrets. It was egrets—or rather, their courtship plumes decorating ladies’ hats—that jump-started the movement to save the wetlands as a park. The Everglades was home to archaic people for thousands of years and also holds the stories of the indigenous Tequesta, Spanish and British colonialists, Mikasuki-speaking Native Americans (and the soldiers who sought to expel them), pioneer settlers, activists who created the park, residents of south Florida, and generations of visitors who have experienced the tropical wilderness of Everglades National Park.
Fort De Soto Park
9781467107525
Regular price $23.99 Sale price $17.99 Save 25%
On April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain, heralding the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Fort De Soto, on Mullet Key, was commissioned to help defend the sea approach to Tampa Bay, Florida. The fort's main defensive feature was a grouping of eight 12-inch-bore mortars, each capable of dropping a half-ton projectile on enemy ships miles away; four of these historic mortars are still in place. In 1948, the fort's 884 acres were sold to Pinellas County, which had long coveted the land for a park. On May 11, 1963, the celebration for the grand opening of Fort De Soto Park featured appearances from Henry Fonda, Guy Lombardo, and Miss Florida. Thousands showed up for the opening ceremonies and were excited to explore everything the new park had to offer. These days, well over two and a half million people visit the park each year to enjoy its top-rated beaches and outdoor activities.
Biscayne National Park
9781467127028
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $18.74 Save 25%
Biscayne National Park protects the larger portion of south Florida's Biscayne Bay, a uniquely tropical lagoon harboring crocodiles, manatees, dolphins, and Caribbean fish. Tropical trees cover its islands, while the world's fourth-longest coral reef sits offshore. Native Americans lived here thousands of years ago; the Spanish held it for 200 years. Hundreds of ships foundered on the reef, fueling a lucrative wrecking industry. In the late 1800s, hardy homesteaders created an agricultural and fishing community. In the 1920s and 1930s, it became a playground for the newly rich and famous. Bracketed by Miami and Key Biscayne to the north and Key Largo to the south, the nearby population eventually grew to over 2.5 million residents and over 14 million annual visitors. To protect these unique natural and historical resources and to assure its enjoyment by future generations, a half century ago, the federal government created Biscayne National Monument, which later became Biscayne National Park.
Biscayne National Park
9781467127462
Regular price $7.99 Sale price $5.99 Save 25%
Biscayne National Park protects the larger portion of south Florida's Biscayne Bay, a uniquely tropical lagoon harboring crocodiles, manatees, dolphins, and Caribbean fish. Tropical trees cover its islands, while the world's fourth-longest coral reef sits offshore. Native Americans lived here thousands of years ago; the Spanish held it for 200 years. In the late 1800s, hardy homesteaders created an agricultural and fishing community. In the 1920s and 1930s, it became a playground for the newly rich and famous. To protect these unique natural and historical resources and to assure its enjoyment by future generations, a half century ago, the federal government created Biscayne National Monument, which later became Biscayne National Park.
