Dry+Tortugas+National+Park

By:Brandy T

Dry Tortugas National Park
Dry Tortugas National Park is formed by coral reefs and sand.

Location/Size/Distance
Dry Tortugas is located in Florida 70 miles west of Key West. Size in different areas is Federal land 61,481.22,non-federal land 3,220.00,gross acres 64,701.22The distance from Iowa traveling in a car is 1,7350.37miles and takes 27hours and 12 minutes to get there, to get to Dry Tortugas you have to take a boat or seaplane.

Park Hours
The park is opened 24 hours a day all yearlong.(some parks may be closed for turtle and bird nesting during the wet season.)The visitor center is open all yearlong from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

Climate
There are two seasons the wet and dry.Dry last from November to April with temps from the mid60s-mid70s. Wet last from May to October with temps from the mid70s-mid80s.

History
Dry Tortugas became a national park in October 25,1992. In 1935,President Franklin D. Roosevelt named the site national monument in January 4,1935,and in 1992 it became a national park.Dry Tortugas held four people for crime in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865.Fort Jefferson construction began in 1846 and it continued for 30 years but it was never finished. The name Dry Tortugas comes from Ponce de leon who visited the park in 1513 an was in awe over a group of sea turtles.

Facts
Fort Jefferson was never truly finished.Fort Jefferson was built during 1846-1875. Fort Jefferson has over 16 million bricks.299 different types of birds have been know to be on this island at least part of the time.

Things to see
You came see some beautiful sunsets when the sun goes down.You can see the famous Fort jefferson.If you go diving or snorkeling you may see coral skyscrapers some up to 100 feet. When you go diving some fish you might see are Amberjacks and Groupers.

Things to do
Go camping the cost is $3 per person. Go fish in the sea and catch a big one. Go hiking thru the park with a friend. Or if you just want to relax go enjoy a view form Fort Jefferson.When you go snorkeling you can take underwater photos!!!

Resources
http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm http://dry.tortugas.national-park.com http://www.mapquest.com http://wiki.answers.com http://usparks.about.com http://www.nationalparks.org Dry_Tortugas_National_Park_Florida.htm http://trveltips.usatoday.com http://www.insideflorida.com/detail/dry-tortugas/ http://www.nationalparked.com/US/Dry_Tortugas/ media type="youtube" key="yE19_zg1JZw?rel=0" height="219" width="392" align="left"