John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
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| John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location | Monroe County, Florida, USA |
| Nearest city | Key Largo, Florida |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 53,000 acres (210 km²) |
| Established | 1963 |
| Visitors | 1,000,000 (in 2004) |
| Governing body | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a Florida State Park located on Key Largo in Florida, and includes approximately 70 nautical square miles (240 km²) of adjacent Atlantic Ocean waters. It was the first underwater park in the United States. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1972. The primary attractions of the park are the coral reefs and their associated marine life.
In Fiscal Year 2004 the park had more than a million visitors, making it the most popular park in the Florida State Parks system. Both the Florida Keys and the Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast are the only living coral reef formations in the continental United States.
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[edit] History
Plans to designate the reefs off Key Largo for a park started in the 1930s. The state-sanctioned, Everglades National Park Commission proposed a national park for the Everglades, including the reefs off Key Largo. Opposition from property owners, outdoors men, and Monroe County Commissioners stopped the plan. When Everglades National Park was created in 1947, the boundaries did not include Key Largo or any of the reefs.
By the late 1950s, citizens were growing concerned of the damage occurring to the reefs along the Florida Keys. Seashells, corals, sponges, sea horses, and other marine life were being hammered, chiseled, and even dynamited from the reefs to provide souvenirs for tourists. Dr. Gilbert Voss of the Marine Institute of Miami and John D. Pennekamp, an editor with the Miami Herald, teamed up to lead a fight to protect the reefs from further damage. Pennekamp had strong credentials for the fight. He had been active in establishing Everglades National Park, had been the first chairman of the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials, and had been a consultant with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
These efforts led the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials to designate the state-controlled reefs off Key Largo a permanent preserve. In the spring of 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the adjacent, federally-controlled area of the reefs as the Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve. Florida Governor Leroy Collins later changed the name of the park to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, in recognition of John Pennekamp's efforts to save marine life. A land base and access to U.S. 1 (the Overseas Highway) were acquired by purchase and donation. The park opened in 1963.
[edit] Recreational activities
The reefs may be viewed from glass-bottom boats, or by snorkeling or scuba diving. Other activities available in the park are canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, picnicking, swimming and wildlife viewing. The visitor center has a 30,000-gallon saltwater aquarium and theater showing nature videos. Full-facility and youth/group campgrounds are available.
 A midnight parrotfish and a yellowtail snapper swimming on Molasses Reef. |
 Various soft corals at Molasses Reef. |
 Elkhorn Coral at Molasses Reef. |
 Various fish (Chubs, Blue Chromis, Sargeant Majors, Bar Jacks) species at Molasses Reef. |
 A ship winch at Molasses Reef. |
[edit] Christ of the Abyss
One of the most famous residents of Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is the Christ of the Abyss, located near Dry Rocks. The 8½ foot tall statue of Jesus Christ weighs 400 pounds and sits in nearly 25 feet of water. It is a popular site for SCUBA divers and snorkelers.
The statue is a copy of "Il Cristo Degli Abissi" in the Mediterranean Sea near Genoa, Italy, which was placed there in 1954. The Christ of the Abyss was donated to the Underwater Society of America in 1961 by Italian SCUBA entrepreneur Egidi Cressi and placed in its current location in 1965. In the their current position, the two statues face each other.
[edit] References and external links
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park at Florida State Parks
- Pennekamp top State Park in Attendance at Florida Keys Treasures
- History of John Pennekamp State Park at Florida Keys History Museum
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is at coordinates Coordinates:
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