Round Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Mississippi Sound, south of Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.A. The island is a coastal preserve, situated in Jackson County and managed by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The relatively isolated terrain—consisting of slash pine forest, interior

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

, and sandy beach—provides feeding, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the brown pelican, white pelican, and

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

s. A number of rare or

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

, including the '' Ruellia noctiflora'', are found there. In 1849, Round Island was used as a staging area by

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n adventurer Narciso López for a filibustering expedition to liberate Cuba. The expedition involved three chartered ships and as many as 600 men. However, US president

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

, who had renounced filibustering as a valid means of U.S. expansion, took steps against López and ordered his ships blockaded and seized. After six weeks, all the volunteers had been talked into leaving Round Island. The island had a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

as early as 1833. The original wooden structure was replaced in 1859 with a brick lighthouse at at the southern tip of the island.Historic Light Station Information: Round Island Light
Retrieved 2013-08-01 In 1998, the lighthouse was toppled by

Hurricane Georges Hurricane Georges () was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde Category 4 hurricane which caused severe destruction as it traversed the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in September 1998, making eight landfalls along its path. Georges was the seventh ...

. In 2005, reconstruction of the lighthouse was in progress, but the structure was destroyed by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Hurricane Katrina damaged Round Island, cutting channels partly or completely through from east to west. A $7.5 billion, ten-year

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

environmental restoration Environmental restoration is closely allied with (or perhaps sometimes used interchangeably with) ecological restoration or environmental remediation. In the U.S., remediation is the term used more in the realms of industry, public policy, and c ...

initiative announced in December 2005 included plans to restore Round Island. Recurring hurricanes and natural erosion had reduced the size of the island from in 1884 to only following Hurricane Katrina. In the summer of 2013, VT Halter Marine began expanding its shipyard facility in Pascagoula and offered dredged materials to increase the footprint of Round Island. Upon completion, the dredging project was expected to add of new land to the island.Dredging project at VT Halter Marine benefits Round Island
Retrieved 2013-11-07

Nearby islands

* Deer Island * Horn Island * Petit Bois Island

References

Islands of Mississippi Protected areas of Jackson County, Mississippi Nature reserves in Mississippi Landforms of Jackson County, Mississippi Uninhabited islands of the United States {{JacksonCountyMS-geo-stub