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Popular State Guides
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John Pennekamp Coral Reef State ParkJohn Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, situated on Key Largo, Florida, was the first underwater park in the United States. Today, it is one of the most popular parks in the Florida State Parks System, attracting over a million visitors every year. This beautiful park encompasses nearly 70 square nautical miles (240 sq. km.) of the waters of the adjacent Atlantic Ocean, and is best known for its magnificent coral reefs and the marine life associated with them. Plans to designate the state-controlled reefs off Key Largo for a state park began in the 1930s. However, it was in the spring of 1960 that the adjacent, federally-controlled area of the reefs was proclaimed as the ‘Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve’ by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The name of the park was later changed to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park by Florida Governor Leroy Collins, in honor of John Pennekamp's sincere efforts to conserve the marine life. The Park opened to the public in 1963 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1972. Glass-bottom boat tours, snorkeling, and scuba diving are the best ways to have a glimpse of the some of the most beautiful reefs in the Park. Other recreational activities offered here include hiking, picnicking, fishing, kayaking, swimming, wildlife viewing, and canoeing. Full-facility, youth/group campgrounds are also made available to the visitors. One of the major attractions at the park is the 30,000 gallon salt-water aquarium at the Visitor Center. The Center also houses a theatre, which features impressive nature videos. The ‘Christ of Abyss’, an 8½ ft (2.6 m) tall statue of Jesus Christ located near Dry Rocks, is yet another major attraction in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. This magnificent, 400-pound (180-kg) statue rests in nearly 25 feet (8 m) of water and is quite popular with snorkelers and SCUBA divers. It is an exact replica of “Il Cristo Degli Abissi”, located in the Mediterranean Sea near Genoa, Italy, and was donated to the Underwater Society of America by Egidi Cressi in 1961. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers a truly unique experience and is certainly worth a visit.
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