Aerial view of Ponce Inlet, Florida, 2007-12-12

The Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in the

barrier islands 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 ...

in central

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 ...

that connects the north end of the

Mosquito Lagoon Mosquito Lagoon is a body of water located on the east coast of Florida in Brevard and Volusia counties. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon system and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends from the Ponce de Leon Inlet to a point north ...

and the south end of the

Halifax River The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (for whom ...

to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The inlet originally was named Mosquito Inlet. In 1926 the Florida Legislature changed the name from Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet. There was precedent for the change. Mosquito County had long before become

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, and the Mosquito River had become the Halifax River. Only the Mosquito Lagoon has kept its old name. It is the site of the town of

Ponce Inlet, Florida Ponce Inlet is a town in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,032 at the 2010 census. The town of Ponce Inlet is located on the southern tip of a barrier island, south of Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach Shores. Several ...

and the

Ponce de Leon Inlet Light The Ponce de Leon Inlet Light is a lighthouse and museum located at Ponce de León Inlet in Central Florida. At in height, it is the tallest lighthouse in the state and one of the tallest in the United States (the Cape Hatteras Light in North Ca ...

. The inlet is maintained by the Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, a division of the

Volusia County, Florida Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 20 ...

government.Ponce deLeon Inlet and Port District

References

External links

* Inlets of Florida Bodies of water of Volusia County, Florida Indian River Lagoon {{VolusiaCountyFL-geo-stub