Don Pedro Island is a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

in southwest

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, in Charlotte County. It is just north of Little Gasparilla Island, separated by a thin strip of

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

and mangrove swamp. It lies west of the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

Rotonda West, separated by a narrow channel. Don Pedro Island is part of the archipelago of islands which include Little Gasparilla Island, Knight Island and Thornton Key. The islands are often referred to as Palm Island due to the resort on the northern part of the archipelago. These islands were originally separated by narrow inlets that ran from the gulf to the intracoastal channel, which separates them from the mainland. As a result of

beach replenishment Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach can ...

projects, these inlets have been closed off with the formation of a continuous beach that now connects them. This

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

which now resembles one island is separated from Stump Pass Beach State Recreation Area by Stump Pass to the north. It borders the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

to the west. Don Pedro Island State Park is located on the island. There is no bridge to the island. It is only accessible by boat or car ferry. There are many private residences on the island and much of the island is taken up by the Palm Island Resort. There is only one restaurant on Don Pedro, Rum Bay Restaurant, located on the north end of the island. The only small general store on the island is located on the first floor directly below the Rum Bay restaurant. The island has an abundance of wildlife. There are a number of indigenous gopher turtles, snakes and rabbits. There is also quite a variety of birds including

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

great blue herons The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Isl ...

, frigate birds, woodpeckers and owls. The beaches are well known for their abundance of shark teeth and shells.

History

For thousands of years Native Americans lived in and around Charlotte Harbor. During the 1700s and 1800s, Spanish fishermen fished the area waters. After years of changing ownership, Don Pedro Island was sold to Cavanaugh Community Corp. in 1969. They built the pavilion and docks on the southeastern portion of the island. In 1985, the property was purchased by the state. The Don Pedro Land Base, acquired in 1999, adds 100 acres of recreational opportunities to the park.

References

Gulf Coast barrier islands of Florida Beaches of Florida Beaches of Charlotte County, Florida Islands of Florida {{CharlotteCountyFL-geo-stub