| Biscayne National Park |
| IUCN Category II (National Park) |
|
Sunset at Biscayne National Park |
| Location |
Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA |
| Nearest city |
Miami |
| Coordinates |
25°39′0″N 80°5′0″W / 25.65, -80.08333 |
| Area |
172,971 acres (699.99 km²) |
| Established |
June 28, 1980 |
| Visitors |
517,442 (in 2007) |
| Governing body |
National Park Service |
|
Park boundaries shown on satellite image
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. Ninety-five percent of the park is water. In addition, the shore of the bay is the location of an extensive mangrove forest. The park covers 207 mi² (700 km²).
Elliott Key, the park's largest island, is considered the first of the true Florida Keys being formed from coral reef. The islands farther north in the park are transitional islands of coral and sand.
History
Biscayne National Monument was established on October 18, 1968. The Monument was promoted to National Park status on June 28, 1980.
Attractions
The major attraction of the park is scuba diving or snorkeling on the coral reef inside the bay. It is also possible to take a glass-bottom boat tour of the bay, or rent kayaks to explore the bay and the islands (Florida Keys) in it. While accessing the historic homes of Stiltsville is currently not allowed by casual visitors, these structures may still be observed from boats.
Gallery
Most of the park is water
External links
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Protected Areas of Florida |
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| National Park Service |
Biscayne National Park • Dry Tortugas National Park • Everglades National Park • Castillo de San Marcos National Monument • Fort Matanzas National Monument • Big Cypress National Preserve • Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve • De Soto National Memorial • Fort Caroline National Memorial • Canaveral National Seashore • Gulf Islands National Seashore |
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| National Forests |
Apalachicola • Choctawhatchee • Ocala • Osceola |
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| State Parks |
Amelia Island • Anastasia • Avalon • Bahia Honda • Bald Point • Big Lagoon • Big Talbot Island • Bill Baggs Cape Florida • Bulow Creek • Caladesi Island • Camp Helen • Cayo Costa • Collier-Seminole • Curry Hammock • Delnor-Wiggins Pass • Devil's Millhopper • Don Pedro Island • Eden Gardens • Egmont Key • Falling Waters • Faver-Dykes • Florida Caverns • Fort Clinch • Fort Cooper • Fort George Island • Fort Pierce Inlet • Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou • Gasparilla Island • George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier • Highlands Hammock • Hontoon Island • Hugh Taylor Birch • John D. MacArthur Beach • John Pennekamp Coral Reef • John U. Lloyd Beach • Jonathan Dickinson • Little Talbot Island • Long Key • Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson • Mike Roess Gold Head Branch • Navarre Beach • North Peninsula • O'Leno • Oscar Scherer • Ravine Gardens • River Bluff Picnic Site • Sebastian Inlet • Skyway Fishing Pier • St. George Island • St. Joseph Peninsula • Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center • Stump Pass Beach • Tomoka • Torreya • Windley Key Fossil Reef |
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| Botanical |
Alfred B. Maclay Gardens • Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock • Lignumvitae Key • Washington Oaks State Gardens |
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| Lakes, Rivers and Springs |
Deer Lake • Lake Griffin • Lake June in Winter Scrub • Lake Kissimmee • Lake Louisa • Lake Manatee • Lake Talquin • Alafia River • Blackwater River • Econfina River • Guana River • Hillsborough River • Little Manatee River • Myakka River • Ochlockonee River • Silver River • Suwannee River • Blue Spring • De Leon Springs • Edward Ball Wakulla Springs • Fanning Springs • Homosassa Springs Wildlife • Ichetucknee Springs • Lafayette Blue Springs • Madison Blue Springs • Manatee Springs • Peacock Springs • Rainbow Springs • Troy Springs • Wekiwa Springs • Werner-Boyce Salt Springs |
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| Recreation areas |
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Museums, Historic sites,
and Archaeological sites |
Cedar Key Museum • Constitution Convention Museum • Forest Capital Museum • John Gorrie State Museum • Ybor City Museum • The Barnacle • Bulow Plantation Ruins • Dade Battlefield • DeSoto Site • Dudley Farm • Fort Foster • Fort Mose • Fort Zachary Taylor • Gamble Plantation • Indian Key • Koreshan • Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead • Natural Bridge Battlefield • Olustee Battlefield • Orman House • Paynes Creek • San Marcos de Apalache • Yellow Bluff Fort • Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins • Crystal River • Lake Jackson Mounds • Letchworth Mounds • Madira Bickel Mound • Mound Key • San Pedro Underwater |
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| Preserves and reserves |
Anclote Key • Cedar Key Scrub • Charlotte Harbor • Crystal River • Estero Bay • Fakahatchee Strand • Kissimmee Prairie • Lower Wekiva River • Paynes Prairie • Pumpkin Hill Creek • River Rise • Rock Springs Run • San Felasco Hammock • Savannas • Seabranch • St. Lucie Inlet • St. Sebastian River • Tarkiln Bayou • Topsail Hill • Tosohatchee • Waccasassa Bay • Yellow River Marsh |
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| Trails |
Gainesville-Hawthorne • General James A. Van Fleet • Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail • Withlacoochee |
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| State Forests |
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| Florida Department of Environmental Protection | |
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National parks of the United States |
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Acadia • American Samoa • Arches • Badlands • Big Bend • Biscayne • Black Canyon of the Gunnison • Bryce Canyon • Canyonlands • Capitol Reef • Carlsbad Caverns • Channel Islands • Congaree • Crater Lake • Cuyahoga Valley • Death Valley • Denali • Dry Tortugas • Everglades • Gates of the Arctic • Glacier • Glacier Bay • Grand Canyon • Grand Teton • Great Basin • Great Sand Dunes • Great Smoky Mountains • Guadalupe Mountains • Haleakala • Hawaii Volcanoes • Hot Springs • Isle Royale • Joshua Tree • Katmai • Kenai Fjords • Kings Canyon • Kobuk Valley • Lake Clark • Lassen Volcanic • Mammoth Cave • Mesa Verde • Mount Rainier • North Cascades • Olympic • Petrified Forest • Redwood • Rocky Mountain • Saguaro • Sequoia • Shenandoah • Theodore Roosevelt • Virgin Islands • Voyageurs • Wind Cave • Wrangell-St. Elias • Yellowstone • Yosemite • Zion |
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| List by: date established, state, elevation | |
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Biscayne National Park". Image Credit.
