Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metropolitan area.
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. The southern part of Key West is 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Keys are located between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.
Barrier islands are a coastal landform, a type of dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen. They are subject to change during storms and other action, but absorb energy and protect the coastlines and create areas of protected waters where wetlands may flourish. A barrier chain may extend for hundreds of kilometers, with islands periodically separated by tidal inlets. The largest barrier island in the world is Padre Island of Texas, United States, at 113 miles (182 km) long. Sometimes an important inlet may close permanently, transforming an island into a peninsula, thus creating a barrier peninsula, often including a beach, barrier beach. Though many are long and narrow, the length and width of barriers and overall morphology of barrier coasts are related to parameters including tidal range, wave energy, sediment supply, sea-level trends, and basement controls. The amount of vegetation on the barrier has a large impact on the height and evolution of the island.
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is largely undeveloped with a large portion of the lagoon included in Biscayne National Park.
Farewell Spit is a narrow sand spit at the northern end of the Golden Bay, in the South Island of New Zealand. The spit includes around 25 km (16 mi) of stable land and another 5 km (3.1 mi) of mobile sand spit running eastwards from Cape Farewell, the northern-most point of the South Island. Farewell Spit is the longest sand spit in New Zealand, and is a legally protected Nature Reserve. The area is designated as a Ramsar wetland site and an East Asian–Australasian Flyway Shorebird Network site. Farewell Spit is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation as a seabird and wildlife reserve. Apart from a small area at the base of the spit, it is closed to the public except through organised tours. Conservation initiatives are in progress towards eliminating mammalian predators from Farewell Spit, including a proposal for a predator-proof fence.
The Marquesas Keys form an uninhabited island group about 20 miles (32 km) west of Key West, four miles (6 km) in diameter, and largely covered by mangrove forest. They are an unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida and belong to the Lower Keys Census County Division. They are protected as part of the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. The Marquesas were used for target practice by the military as recently as 1980.
Gulf Islands National Seashore is an American National seashore that offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. In 2023, it was the fifth-most visited unit of the National Park Service.
Anclote Key is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, the largest island in the Anclote Keys, located at 28°11′16″N82°50′44″W near Tarpon Springs. Its name originates from the Spanish term for "anchor." The island is accessible only by boat and is split between Anclote Key Preserve State Park and Anclote National Wildlife Reserve. North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar, and Three Rooker Island are part of Anclote Key Preserve State Park. The island contains mangrove wetlands, coastal pine flatwoods, and beaches. A large number of shorebirds nest and breed on Anclote Key and the surrounding islands. Sand Key is located nearby. Most of the island is located within Pasco County, while its southernmost section is in Pinellas County. The island is home to the Anclote Keys Light.
Perdido Key is an unincorporated community in Escambia County, Florida located between Pensacola, Florida and Orange Beach, Alabama. The community is located on and named for Perdido Key, a barrier island in northwest Florida and southeast Alabama. "Perdido" means "lost" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. The Florida district of the Gulf Islands National Seashore includes the east end of the island, as well as other Florida islands. No more than a few hundred yards wide in most places, Perdido Key stretches some 16 miles (26 km) from near Pensacola to Perdido Pass Bridge near Orange Beach.
Lovers Key State Park is a 712-acre (2.88 km2) Florida State Park located on Lover's Key and three other barrier islands—Black Island, Inner and Long Key. It is at 8700 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach, between Big Carlos Pass and New Pass and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) west of Interstate 75 on exit 116. The park lies within the city limits of Bonita Springs and is just north of Bonita Beach. The park uses a Fort Myers Beach zip code for address purposes.
Cape Romano is a cape on the Gulf Coast of Florida, United States. It is on Cape Romano Island, one of a group of islands known collectively as Kice-Morgan Island.
The Key West National Wildlife Refuge is a 189,497 acre (766.867 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Monroe County, Florida, between Key West, Florida and the Dry Tortugas. Only 2,019 acres (8.171 km2) of land are above sea level, on several keys within the refuge. These keys are unpopulated and are also designated as Wilderness within the Florida Keys Wilderness. The refuge was established to provide a preserve and breeding ground for native birds and other wildlife as well as to provide habitat and protection for endangered and threatened fish, wildlife, plants and migratory birds.
Waterhouse Island, part of the Waterhouse Island Group, is a 287-hectare (710-acre) granite island situated in Banks Strait, part of Bass Strait, lying close to the north-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia.
Alligator Point is an unincorporated community on St. James Island in Franklin County, Florida, United States. It is located along U.S. 98, south of Bald Point State Park, along the Gulf of Mexico. Alligator Point is a small beach community made up of mostly beach homes and the Alligator Point Yacht Basin. Located on Florida's "Forgotten Coast", nearby attractions include Bald Point State Park and the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. Alligator Harbor is known for its clam harvesting and was featured on Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs."
Bahia Honda is an island in the lower Florida Keys.
The Mule Keys are a group of scattered islets in the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United States. They are between 3 and 12 mi west of Key West, separated from it by the Northwest Channel. On the west, they are separated from the Marquesas Keys by the 6-mile (9.7 km) wide Boca Grande Channel. They belong to the outlying islands of the Florida Keys. Administratively, they are an unincorporated area of Monroe County. The islets are part of the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. The area of the islets totals 1.07 sq mi (2.8 km2), of which 1.02 sq mi (2.6 km2) are land area and 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2) inland water bodies. The islets are uninhabited except for Mule Key, for which the census of 2000 lists one housing unit with a population of two.
Perdido Pass, separating Alabama Point from Florida Point, is the mouth of the Perdido River. Perdido Pass forms a water passage that connects Perdido Bay with the Gulf of Mexico to the south, in the U.S. state of Alabama, 2 miles (3 km) west of the Alabama/Florida state line. A bridge spans Perdido Pass, connecting Alabama Point with Florida Point in Alabama. At the entrance into the Gulf, the 2 rock barriers, extending from the white beaches, are the west jetty & east jetty. The surrounding area is heavily developed, with high-rise condominiums. However, there are nearby beach-front parks, with Gulf State Park on the eastern side of Perdido Pass.
Much of the state of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Spanning two time zones, it extends to the northwest into a panhandle along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by the states of Georgia and Alabama, on the west, at the end of the panhandle, by Alabama. It is near The Bahamas, and several Caribbean countries, particularly Cuba. Florida has 131 public airports, and more than 700 private airports, airstrips, heliports, and seaplane bases. Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River, and only Alaska and Michigan are larger in water area.
Sand Key is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the southwest of Key West within the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. This reef is within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA).
Perdido Key is a 24 kilometres (15 mi) long barrier island on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The island extends from Pensacola Pass on the east to Perdido Pass on the west. Most of the island is in Florida, with the western end of the island in Alabama. Santa Rosa Island is to the east of the island, and Alabama Point is to the west. Perdido Key was attached to the mainland until the 1940s when a canal separated it from the mainland. The eastern part of the island forms part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which includes the Perdido Key Historic District, the site of three shore batteries that once defended Pensacola Bay. The rest of the island, with the exception of the Perdido Key State Park, has been developed as a resort and residential community. As a barrier island, Perdidio Key is subject to changes due to wave action and longshore currents, particularly from hurricanes. The endangered Perdido Key beach mouse is endemic to the island.
