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Dry Tortugas
Located 70 miles west off Key West, the is- Dry Tortugas are visited by boaters, ferry At times, for example, Middle Key is awash, and at
lands were named “Las Tortugas” by Span- passengers, divers and bird-watchers. Bird- times it may appear as a sand island. Bush Key is
ish explorer Ponce de Leon in 1513. Sailors watchers come primarily to see seabird col- sometimes connected to Garden Key, but after a
later added “Dry” to the name, since the onies on Bush Key. storm it may be a separate island.
islands lack fresh water. Fort Jefferson, on
Garden Key, was built in the 1860’s and is ISLAND DYNAMICS The tiny islands of the Dry
the largest masonry structure in the west- Tortugas are in a constant state of change due to
ern hemisphere, with 16 million bricks. The the erosive effects of currents, storms and wind.
