This lengthy stretch of undeveloped beach offers visitors the opportunity to experience Florida as it was millennia ago. Sunlit clouds, crashing surf and shifting sands enchant visitors and immerse them in nature’s rhythms. The Seashore entrance is within the 30-mile radius of the Aquatic Gems project but this astounding stretch of Atlantic coastline extends south all the way to the Kennedy Space Center. Find your own stretch of beach in the late afternoon shade of a dune and let the surf lull you with its primordial sound.
The western side of Canaveral National Seashore lies along Mosquito Lagoon, part of the most biodiverse estuary in North America. Early Native peoples made this resource-rich area their home and several enormous shell middens are located here. One of them, Turtle Mound, is among the largest in the United States. One of the other major middens, Castle Windy, sits further south and is accessible by an exceptional trail that crosses the barrier island through a low-lying maritime hammock where the trees are kept short by salt air and powerful ocean winds. The middens are made primarily of discarded oyster and clam shells and form a monumental tribute to Florida’s pre-Columbian population. One can easily imagine pre-Columbian Americans appreciating the same pristine beaches that, even today, look much as they did thousands of years ago.
Extraordinary features of the Canaveral Seashore include:
• Turtle Mound, a monumentally large Native American shell midden.
• The longest stretch of wild beach on Florida’s east coast.
• The Castle Windy trail traverses the barrier island through an unusual miniature forest to a towering Native shell midden
Aquatic Gems Site.
Please visit video based version of the project at http://www.floridaaquaticgems.com/
Please watch VIDEO HERE!
Links:
http://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm
http://www.floridasnaturalwonders.com/bucket-list/canaveral-national-seashore/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Mound
Titusville, FL 32796
