Canaveral National Seashore
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Canaveral National Seashore | |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
Location: | Florida, USA |
Nearest city: | Titusville, Florida |
Coordinates: | |
Area: | 57,662 acres (233.35 km²) |
Established: | January 3, 1975 |
Total Visitation: | 1,007,446 (in 2005) |
Governing body: | National Park Service |
The Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) is a National Seashore located between New Smyrna Beach and Titusville, Florida, in the United States. The park, located on a barrier island, is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 310 bird species. CANA occupies 58,000 acres (including lagoons) and was created on January 3, 1975 by an act of Congress. The park's 24-mile long beach is the longest undeveloped beach on the east coast of the state. The southern part is also known as Playalinda Beach and the northern part includes Turtle Mound.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is located at the southern end of the barrier island occupied by Canaveral National Seashore so access to the seashore is often restricted during launch-related activities at the space center. Mosquito Lagoon borders the other side of the Cape from the Seashore.
The Playalinda Beach has thirteen parking lots numbered from the south. The space shuttle launch facility is easily visible from the approach to Parking Lot #1. The shore north of Parking Lot #13 has for years been an informal nudist beach. Brevard County passed an ordinance (3 to 2) making nudity illegal in the county, but the National Seashore administration refuses to spend money out of its own budget to enforce a local county ordinance, so enforcement is spotty and infrequent.