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This is Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park. Built in 1846, it's the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere, the largest American military prison, and America's largest coastal fort and was tasked with anchoring and supplying warships used to protect access to the Gulf of Mexico for American merchants. The most famous prisoner of the fort was Samuel Mudd, imprisoned because he medically treated John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln's assassination. Mudd was later pardoned after saving many of the island's soldiers and prisoners during a yellow fever outbreak.
Located 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, the islands were given their name (Tortugas) by Ponce de Leon in 1513 due to the abundant amount of sea turtles. The keys contain numerous coral reefs with more than 400 species of reef fish as well as migratory bird sanctuaries and even shipwrecks.
Last edited by 5trillion; 02-27-2016 at 01:16 PM..
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Teresópolis, RJ
