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

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