… was proclaimed on January 4, 1935. It was renamed and redesignated on October 26, 1992.
Almost 70 miles (112.9 km) west of Key West lies a cluster of seven islands, composed of coral reefs and sand, called the Dry Tortugas. 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.
A large military fortress, Fort Jefferson, was constructed in the mid-19th century as an effort for the United States to protect the extremely lucrative shipping channel. Low and flat, these islands and reefs pose a serious navigation hazard to ships passing through the 75-mile-wide straits between the gulf and the ocean. Consequently, these high risk reefs have created a natural “ship trap” and have been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks. A lighthouse was constructed at Garden Key in 1825 to warn incoming vessels of the dangerous reefs and later, a bricktower lighthouse was constructed on Loggerhead Key in 1858 for the same purpose.
One of Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon murder mysteries, “Flashback,” takes place at Fort Jefferson National Monument.