Biscayne National Park
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Biscayne | |
 | |
| Designation | National Park |
| Location | Florida USA |
| Nearest City | Miami, Florida |
| Coordinates | 25°39′ N 80°5′ W (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=25_39_N_80_5_W_) |
| Area | 172,924 acres 699.80 km² |
| Date of establishment | June 28, 1980 |
| Visitation | 539,307 (2003) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| IUCN category | II (National Park) |
Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida. 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 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.
| National Parks of the United States | |
 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 | |
External links
- official site: Biscayne National Park (http://www.nps.gov/bisc/index.htm)
- Biscayne National Park (http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/parks/Biscayne-National-Park) - National Parks Gallery
- Photos of Biscayne National Park - Terra Galleria (http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.biscayne.html)
- Guide to Biscayne National Park on Compassmonkey.com (http://www.compassmonkey.com/places/locations.php/82)fr:Biscayne National Park
