Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along 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 S ...

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 a fe ...

s of

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, a ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven islands. Some islands along the

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

coast were originally considered for inclusion, but none are part of the National Seashore. Pensacola Beach 1957 White Sand

of the seashore features offshore barrier islands with sparkling white quartz sand beaches (along miles of undeveloped land), historic fortifications, and nature trails. Mainland features near

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

, include the Naval Live Oaks Reservation, beaches, and military forts. All Florida areas are accessible by automobile. The Mississippi District of the seashore features natural beaches, historic sites, wildlife sanctuaries, islands accessible only by boat, bayous, nature trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds. The Davis Bayou Area is the only portion of the National Seashore in Mississippi that is accessible by automobile. Petit Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship, and Cat islands are accessible only by boat. The Gulf Islands Wilderness offers special protection within the seashore to parts of Petit Bois Island and Horn Island, Mississippi. Considerable damage to public infrastructure occurred as a result of storms during the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and 2005 Atlantic hurricane seasons. In subsequent years, infrastructure was fully repaired. All roadways, parking areas, campgrounds, and visitor centers have been repaired and are fully operational. A few trails and associated boardwalks and dune crossovers were still under repair as of late 2010, especially near the

Fort Pickens Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and was one of the few ...

campground. Hurricane Sally hit the area in September 2020 causing massive damage to the Gulf Islands Seashores. Perdido Key was hit with flooding waters that flattened out some of the dunes along Perdido Key. Johnson Beach National Seashore, part of the Gulf Island National Seashore at the east end of the island, was hit particularly hard. Many of the dunes were flattened and the end of the island was gorged forming 3 small isolated islands off the tip. Restoration projects bring in sand and vegetation to restore storm damage, though it can be a long process with subsequent storms and strong winds. Entrance fees are charged at the entrance to the Fort Pickens area at Pensacola Beach, as well as the Johnson Beach Area at Perdido Key in Florida. The typical automobile entrance fee is US$25, good for seven days. Annual passes can be purchased for US$45.

Islands

Principal islands in the seashore (from east to west): * Santa Rosa Island - Florida * Perdido Key - Florida * Petit Bois Island - Mississippi * West Petit Bois Island (formerly known as Sand Island) - Mississippi * Horn Island - Mississippi *

East Ship Island Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, t ...

- Mississippi *

West Ship Island Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, t ...

- Mississippi * Cat Island - Mississippi

History

The

national seashore The United States has ten protected areas known as national seashores and three known as national lakeshores, which are public lands operated by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior. National seashores and ...

was authorized on January 8, 1971, and is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

. The

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

was designated on November 10, 1978. Santa Rosa Island had been previously protected as a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

from 1939 to 1946. The

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...

, beginning on April 20, 2010, released masses of oil and tar which began washing ashore, in varying amounts, along the Gulf Islands National Seashore on June 1, 2010. On June 23, 2010, wave after wave of oil pools and globs began covering the beaches on Santa Rosa Island, "Pools of oil wash ashore on Pensacola Beach", ''Tampa Bay Online'' (TBO), 23 June 2010, webpage:
TBO-30
resulting in a fishing and swimming ban. The oil-spill disaster affected every large island in the group.

Day Use Areas

There are 6 distinct areas of the seashore in Florida for visitors: * Johnson Beach area on Perdido Key * Fort Barrancas area on the Naval Air Station in Pensacola * Fort Pickens area on East Pensacola Beach * Gulf Breeze area on Gulf Breeze * Santa Rosa Island area on West Pensacola Beach * Okaloosa Island area on Fort Walton Beach

Visitor centers

Four visitor centers, staffed by National Park personnel, are located within Gulf Islands National Seashore. Two are located in Florida, and one is located in Mississippi. Florida Visitor Centers * Fort Barrancas Visitor Center (located aboard

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

, Florida) *

Discovery Center,

Pensacola Beach, Florida Pensacola Beach is an unincorporated community located on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is situated south of Pensacola (and Gulf Breeze connected via bridges spanning to the Fairpoint P ...

Mississippi Visitor Centers * William M. Colmer Visitor Center (Davis Bayou Area),

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi and west of Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 U.S. Censu ...

**Near Fort Massachusetts

Camping

Two developed campgrounds are located in the National Seashore. Primitive camping is also permitted in designated areas. In Florida, th
Pickens Campground
is a developed one and provides water and electrical hookups for recreational vehicles and tents. Roads are paved throughout the campground, as well as each campsite. The environment is characterized by sand scrub oaks, small brackish ponds, and a remnant pine forest on a barrier island between Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Central restrooms and showers are available. A campground store reopened in late 2010 (after being closed following storm damage from Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis in 2004 and 2005, respectively). There are no sewer hookups at the campsites; however, a dump station is available. The campground is located approximately 1.5 miles (2 km) from Fort Pickens itself. In Mississippi, th
Davis Bayou Campground
is developed, providing water and electrical hookups for recreational vehicles and tents. Roads are paved throughout the campground, as well as each campsite. The environment is characterized by an oak and pine forest adjacent to a brackish bayou connected to Mississippi Sound. Central restrooms and showers are available. There are no sewer hookups at the campsites; however, a dump station is available. The campground is located at the end of roadway leading through the Davis Bayou Area. Primitive camping is permitted on several of the barrier islands. Boating or hiking in is required. Such camping is allowed on Perdido Key, Florida (east of Johnson Beach), and on government-owned properties on Petit Bois, Horn, East Ship, and Cat islands in Mississippi.

Geology

Gulf Islands National Seashore geologic cross section

The barrier islands started forming 4500-5400 years ago. On the north side of the islands, the beaches are broad, while on the south side, the beaches include high dunes on average, but with some reaching . The white quartz sands originated from the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

. The surface geology consists mainly of

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

marine, beach and dune sands. On Santa Rosa Island, these lie unconformably on

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

formations deposited during the

Sangamonian The Sangamonian Stage (or Sangamon interglacial) is the term used in North America to designate the last interglacial period. In its most common usage, it is used for the period of time between 75,000 and 125,000 BP.Willman, H.B., and J.C. Frye, ...

Marine Isotope Stage 5, when the sea level was 3-6 meters (10-20 feet) above the present level. This includes the Gulfport Formation, a barrier complex with shallow nearshore, beach and dune sands, the Prairie Formation, deposited in nearshore marine and

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

-lagoonal brackish environments, and the Biloxi Formation, consisting of

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Al ...

deposits. Below these formations are the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...

, the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

Tampa Member of the Arcadia Formation, and the Oligocene Chickasawhay Limestone. On Horn Island, the Holocene deposits overlay

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

formations that includes the Pascagoula Formation, consisting of fluvial, estuarine, and nearshore marine (undifferentiated) deposits, the Hattiesburg Formation, consisting of fluvial, estuarine, and nearshore marine (undifferentiated) deposits, and the

Catahoula Formation The Catahoula Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and Louisiana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) ...

Climate

References

External links

* * Official NPS website
Gulf Islands National SeashoreGulf Island National Seashore in Florida

Gulf Islands Wilderness

Gulf Islands NS at Hiker Central

Benthic Substrate Classification Map: Gulf Islands National Seashore

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

Geomorphology and Depositional Subenvironments of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi

''Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War'', a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
{{authority control Beaches of Florida National Seashores of the United States National Park Service areas in Mississippi National Park Service areas in Florida Gulf of Mexico islands of the United States Beaches of Mississippi Protected areas of Escambia County, Florida Protected areas of Harrison County, Mississippi Protected areas of Jackson County, Mississippi Protected areas of Okaloosa County, Florida Protected areas of Santa Rosa County, Florida Protected areas established in 1971 Islands of Escambia County, Florida Landforms of Harrison County, Mississippi Landforms of Jackson County, Mississippi Islands of Okaloosa County, Florida Islands of Santa Rosa County, Florida Beaches of Escambia County, Florida Beaches of Okaloosa County, Florida Beaches of Santa Rosa County, Florida Islands of Mississippi Islands of Florida 1971 establishments in Mississippi 1971 establishments in Florida Conservation in Navarre, Florida Navarre, Florida