If you love Key West snorkeling, then Dry Tortugas National Park offers some of the best snorkeling and skin diving in North America, just 70 miles from Key West and the Florida Keys. The shallow waters (5-15 feet) make snorkeling at the Dry Tortugas fun for everyone. Whether beginner or expert, you can enjoy an abundance of colorful tropical fish and living coral among the waters. Directly accessible from the brilliant white sand beach are the Fort Jefferson snorkeling areas. Look for majestic corals, many varieties of tropical fish, starfish, queen conchs, and much more in this protected marine sanctuary. Complimentary fins, mask and snorkel are provided.

The Dry Tortugas is home to some of the most vibrant coral reefs in the United States, and is a snorkeler’s wonderland. The reef stretches from the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Miami in the Atlantic Ocean. This amazing structure is made up of layers of calcium carbonate secreted by coral polyps throughout thousands of years and is the home of hundreds of tropical fish and marine life. The corals receive their vibrant colors from polyps containing algae called zooxanthellae, which also helps to keep the corals alive. It is important for snorkelers not to touch the corals, as damaging the delicate polyps can make corals susceptible to bleaching and disease. Today’s snorkelers are cautioned to “look but not touch.”

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