The Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in the
barrier islands in central
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
that connects the north end of the
Mosquito Lagoon 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 ...
to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. 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, 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 and the
Ponce de Leon Inlet Light. The inlet is maintained by the Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, a division of the
Volusia County, Florida 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