Gateway to the Gulf

The Dry Tortugas keys stand at the crossroads of biologically rich sea currents, migratory bird routes, and strategic shipping lanes linking the eastern United States with Gulf Coast ports such as New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola. They include natural and historic treasures ranging from coral polyps, songbirds, sea turtles, and vibrant reefs in the Florida Keys to Fort Jefferson, a massive fortification begun in 1846 and never finished. The Dry Tortugas also provided the U.S. military with a deepwater anchorage and a site for a fort to protect the mainland and shipping lanes connecting Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Atlantic ports, and Fort Jefferson remained a Union fortification during the Civil War. Thousands of songbirds and seabirds stop there to rest as they migrate between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the reefs contain more than 75 species of hard and soft corals, and more than 98 percent of this 100-square-mile park is open ocean.