THE DRY TORTUGAS & FORT JEFFERSON | JANUARY, 2018
The apt name "Dry Tortugas" comes from two truths about these small spits of sand at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles west of Key West:
1. There is absolutely no fresh water anywhere on this small archipelago, hence "Dry" was added to its original name to warn mariners not to expect to find any here.
2. Back in the day, the waters around these small keys were full of giant sea turtles (hence "Tortugas," Spanish for "turtles") ... before their numbers were seriously reduced from overfishing, but they are making a comeback!
Click on any image below to see an enlargement. Use the arrows at the left and right of each enlargement (which appear when you hover your mouse over the enlargement) to navigate to other gallery pictures.
1. There is absolutely no fresh water anywhere on this small archipelago, hence "Dry" was added to its original name to warn mariners not to expect to find any here.
2. Back in the day, the waters around these small keys were full of giant sea turtles (hence "Tortugas," Spanish for "turtles") ... before their numbers were seriously reduced from overfishing, but they are making a comeback!
Click on any image below to see an enlargement. Use the arrows at the left and right of each enlargement (which appear when you hover your mouse over the enlargement) to navigate to other gallery pictures.