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'''Ponce de Leon Inlet''' is a natural opening in Florida's East Coast barrier island connecting the north end of [[Mosquito Lagoon]] and the south end of Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally named ''Mosquito Inlet'', Ponce de Leon Inlet is the site of the Town of Ponce Inlet and the [[Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station]].


'''Ponce de Leon Inlet''' is a natural opening in the Florida East Coast barrier island that connects the north end of [[Mosquito Lagoon]] and the south end of Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. Ponce Inlet is the site of the town of Ponce Inlet, Florida, and the [[Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station]].
[[File:Ponce Inlet Lighthouse from top05.jpg|400px|thumb|right|alt=Ponce de Leon Inlet|Ponce de Leon Inlet]]
Spanish explorers knew the area around Halifax River and Ponce Inlet in Volusia County as ''Los Mosquitoes'', which became known as Mosquito County, Mosquito River, Mosquito Lagoon, and Mosquito Inlet to early settlers. Mosquito County had long been divided into Orange, Volusia, and Brevard Counties, and the Mosquito River had become known as the Halifax River when the Florida Legislature renamed ''Mosquito Inlet'' to Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1928. Only Mosquito Lagoon retains its original name. <ref name="McCarthy" />


Spanish explorers knew the area around Halifax River and Ponce Inlet in Volusia County as ''Los Mosquitoes'', which became known as Mosquito County, Mosquito River, Mosquito Lagoon, and Mosquito Inlet to early settlers. Mosquito County had long been divided into Orange, Volusia, and Brevard Counties, and the Mosquito River had become known as the Halifax River when the Florida Legislature renamed '''Mosquito Inlet''' to Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1928. Only Mosquito Lagoon retains its original name. <ref name="McCarthy" />  
The Town of Ponce Inlet was named after Antonio Pons who settled there in 1805. By 1820, the Pons Family owned 405 acres north of the inlet and the community was known as Pons (Ponce) Park by the time the first lighthouse was built there in 1884.<ref name="PonceInletTown" />


The Town of Ponce Inlet was named after Antonio Pons who settled there in 1805. By 1820, the Pons Family owned 405 acres north of the inlet and the community became known as Pons (Ponce) Park when the first lighthouse was built there in 1884.<ref name="PonceInletTown" />
Ponce de Leon Inlet and Jupiter Inlet are the only natural inlets among the five within the [[Indian River Lagoon Estuary|Indian River Lagoon National Estuary]]. Man-made adaptations to the natural inlet include a 4,200ft north jetty and a 2,700ft south jetty constructed in 1969. Although it is a natural inlet, Ponce de Leon Inlet has to be dredged on a regular basis to remove shoaling sand in order to maintain the navigation channel.  


Ponce de Leon Inlet and Jupiter Inlet are the only natural inlets among the five within the [[Indian River Lagoon Estuary|Indian River Lagoon National Estuary]]. Although it is a natural cut, Ponce de Leon Inlet has to be dredged on a regular basis to remove shoaling sand in order to maintain the navigation channel. It is currently maintained by the Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, a Division of the Volusia County, Florida government.<ref name="poncedistrict" />
The inlet was originally maintained by Volusia County's Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, which was disbanded and reorganized as the Ponce Inlet Port Authority<ref name="ponceauthority" /> under Volusia County Municipal Code of Ordinance Article VIII.<ref name="PonceAuthorityCode" />


Man-made adaptations to the natural inlet include north and south jetties originally constructed in 1969. The 4000ft north jetty was recently damaged by hurricanes and on July 28, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $7 million contract to repair the last 100ft and modify the entire jetty to reduce the constant shoaling of sand in the channel.<ref name="USACEPonce" />
The north jetty was recently damaged by multiple hurricanes, and on July 28, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $7 million contract to repair the last 100ft and reinforce the entire jetty in order to reduce the constant shoaling of sand in the channel.<ref name="USACEPonce" />
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==Location==
Ponce de Leon Inlet is located on the beach barrier island south of the City of Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, Florida.
 
Coordinates: 29°04'35.4"N, 80°55'08.2"W  GIS:29.076502,-80.918931
{{Map Embed|coord=29.076502,-80.918931|zoom=12}}
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==Navigation==
[[File:Ponce_de_leon_inlet_map.jpg|400px|thumb|right|alt=Ponce Inlet Navigation Project|Ponce Inlet Navigation Project]]
Ponce Inlet jetties and navigational channels are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Ponce de Leon Inlet Operation and Maintenance Project which consists of an entrance channel which is 15 feet deep and 200 feet wide across the ocean bar; 12 feet deep by 200 feet wide and 12 deep by 100 feet wide to Indian River North; 12 deep by 100 feet wide southward to the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW); 7 feet deep by 100 feet wide in the Halifax River northward to the IWW; and ocean jetties 4,200 feet long and 2,700 feet long on the north and south sides of the inlet, respectively.<ref name="USACEPonceOM2020" />
 
Vessels navigating the inlet during low tide should exercise great caution due to the constantly moving sand shoals.
 
Excerpt from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL Operations and Maintenance Congressional Fact Sheet dated May, 2020:
 
"The unstable nature of the navigation channel in Ponce de Leon Inlet is a continuing safety problem as recorded by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has documented vessel groundings, capsized vessels, and over 20 lives lost in the vicinity of the inlet. The entrance and interior channels require the Coast Guard to frequently monitor and relocate aids to navigation due to the need to identify safe water."<ref name="USACEPonceOM2020" />


==Historical Timeline==
==Historical Timeline==
Source: [https://www.ponce-inlet.org/295/Town-History Ponce Inlet Town History]
* 1513: Ponce de Leon explored the Ponce Inlet area.
* 1513: Ponce de Leon explored the Ponce Inlet area.
* 1803: Antonio Pons (Ponz or Ponce), a New Smyrna Minorcan, was granted 175 acres north of the inlet by Spain
* 1803: Antonio Pons (Ponz or Ponce), a New Smyrna Minorcan, was granted 175 acres north of the inlet by Spain
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* 1820: Pons' widow received an additional grant of 230 acres in return for her husband's service to Spain
* 1820: Pons' widow received an additional grant of 230 acres in return for her husband's service to Spain
* 1821: Florida ceded to the United States by Spain. Live oak lumbering began at ''Los Mosquitoes''
* 1821: Florida ceded to the United States by Spain. Live oak lumbering began at ''Los Mosquitoes''
* 1834: First lighthouse built on New Smyrna side of Inlet destroyed by Indians and a storm
* 1834: First lighthouse built on New Smyrna side of Mosquito Inlet destroyed by Indians and a storm
* 1870: Congress appropriated $60,000 to secure a site and build a lighthouse at the inlet
* 1870: Congress appropriated $60,000 to secure a site and build a lighthouse at the inlet
* 1884: Brigadier General Orville Babcock appointed engineer to build the lighthouse and he named the local community Ponce (Pons) Park
* 1884: Brigadier General Orville Babcock appointed engineer to build the lighthouse and he named the local community Ponce (Pons) Park
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* 1928: Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet
* 1928: Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet
* 1941: Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District was formed.
* 1941: Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District was formed.
* 1964: Town of Ponce Inlet leased the lighthouse reservation property from the U.S government for $1 per year to use as Town Hall
* 1968: A Volusia County tax assessment was approved for the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District
* 1968: A Volusia County tax assessment was approved for the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District
* 1969: North and south jetties at the inlet were completed.
* 1969: North and south jetties at the inlet were completed.
* 1972: U.S. Interior Department deeded the Ponce de Leon Light Station to the Town of Ponce Inlet
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Source: [https://www.ponce-inlet.org/295/Town-History Ponce Inlet Town History]
 
==Location==
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Ponce de Leon Inlet is located on the beach barrier island south of the City of Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, Florida.
Coordinates (29°04'35.4"N, 80°55'08.2"W) (29.076502, -80.918931)


{{#cargo_display_map:point=29.076502, -80.918931|service=googlemaps|width=inherit|zoom=13|}}
==Video==
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCiZ8bCTmnlgTJWOQ0p-0rzTWB7VjQRrm Ponce de Leon Inlet Video Playlist] from the [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHtV0jOmRQMpJEtUXfIjAbA Indian River Lagoon News YouTube Channel].


{{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCiZ8bCTmnlgTJWOQ0p-0rzTWB7VjQRrm|inherit|left}}
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==See Also==
==See Also==
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* [[Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve]]
* [[Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve]]
* [[Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station]]
* [[Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station]]
==Web Links==
* [https://www.ponce-inlet.org/295/Town-History Ponce Inlet Town History]
* [https://www.ponceinlet.org/History-Behind-A-Name--Ponce-Inlet-1-6016.html Ponce Inlet Name History]
* [https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2299757/jacksonville-district-awards-contract-to-repair-ponce-de-leon-north-jetty/ USACE Press Release - Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty]
* [https://www.volusia.org/news/news-releases.stml?portalProcess_dd_0_1_1=showPublicEvent&calendar_entry_id=27256 Volusia County Press Release - North Jetty Repairs]


==References==
==References==
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<ref name="PonceInletTown">[https://www.ponce-inlet.org/295/Town-History Ponce Inlet Town History], Retrieved on October 8, 2020</ref>
<ref name="PonceInletTown">[https://www.ponce-inlet.org/295/Town-History Ponce Inlet Town History], Retrieved on October 8, 2020</ref>
<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite book|last1=McCarthy|first1=Kevin C.|title=Florida Lighthouses|date=1990|publisher=University of Florida Press|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-0993-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/floridalighthous00mcca/page/25 25]|url=https://archive.org/details/floridalighthous00mcca/page/25}}</ref>
<ref name="McCarthy">{{cite book|last1=McCarthy|first1=Kevin C.|title=Florida Lighthouses|date=1990|publisher=University of Florida Press|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-0993-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/floridalighthous00mcca/page/25 25]|url=https://archive.org/details/floridalighthous00mcca/page/25}}</ref>
<ref name="poncedistrict">[http://volusia.org/coastal/default.htm Ponce deLeon Inlet and Port District]</ref>
<ref name="ponceauthority">[https://www.volusia.org/government/special-districts/vcpipa.stml Volusia County Ponce Inlet Port Authority]</ref>
<ref name="PonceAuthorityCode">[https://library.municode.com/fl/volusia_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH110SPDI_ARTVIIIPODEINPODI ARTICLE VIII - PONCE DeLEON INLET AND PORT DISTRICT]</ref>
<ref name="USACEPonce">[https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2299757/jacksonville-district-awards-contract-to-repair-ponce-de-leon-north-jetty/ US Army Corps of Engineers Press Release dated 08-04-2020: Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty]</ref>
<ref name="USACEPonce">[https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2299757/jacksonville-district-awards-contract-to-repair-ponce-de-leon-north-jetty/ US Army Corps of Engineers Press Release dated 08-04-2020: Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty]</ref>
<ref name="USACEPonceOM2020">[https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/About/Congressional-Fact-Sheets-2020/Ponce-de-Leon-Inlet-O-M/ USACE - Ponce de Leon Inlet O&M Project]</ref>
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{{IRL footer estuary|cat=Mosquito Lagoon}}
[[Category:Mosquito Lagoon]]
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[[Category:Mosquito Lagoon Water Body]]
[[Category:Mosquito Lagoon Water Body]]
[[Category:Volusia County Locale]]

Latest revision as of 04:52, November 23, 2021

Indian River Lagoon Encyclopedia
Indian River Lagoon Encyclopedia - Water Body
Water Body

Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in Florida's East Coast barrier island connecting the north end of Mosquito Lagoon and the south end of Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally named Mosquito Inlet, Ponce de Leon Inlet is the site of the Town of Ponce Inlet and the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station.

Ponce de Leon Inlet
Ponce de Leon Inlet

Spanish explorers knew the area around Halifax River and Ponce Inlet in Volusia County as Los Mosquitoes, which became known as Mosquito County, Mosquito River, Mosquito Lagoon, and Mosquito Inlet to early settlers. Mosquito County had long been divided into Orange, Volusia, and Brevard Counties, and the Mosquito River had become known as the Halifax River when the Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1928. Only Mosquito Lagoon retains its original name. [1]

The Town of Ponce Inlet was named after Antonio Pons who settled there in 1805. By 1820, the Pons Family owned 405 acres north of the inlet and the community was known as Pons (Ponce) Park by the time the first lighthouse was built there in 1884.[2]

Ponce de Leon Inlet and Jupiter Inlet are the only natural inlets among the five within the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary. Man-made adaptations to the natural inlet include a 4,200ft north jetty and a 2,700ft south jetty constructed in 1969. Although it is a natural inlet, Ponce de Leon Inlet has to be dredged on a regular basis to remove shoaling sand in order to maintain the navigation channel.

The inlet was originally maintained by Volusia County's Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, which was disbanded and reorganized as the Ponce Inlet Port Authority[3] under Volusia County Municipal Code of Ordinance Article VIII.[4]

The north jetty was recently damaged by multiple hurricanes, and on July 28, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $7 million contract to repair the last 100ft and reinforce the entire jetty in order to reduce the constant shoaling of sand in the channel.[5]

Location

Ponce de Leon Inlet is located on the beach barrier island south of the City of Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, Florida.

Coordinates: 29°04'35.4"N, 80°55'08.2"W GIS:29.076502,-80.918931

Navigation

Ponce Inlet Navigation Project
Ponce Inlet Navigation Project

Ponce Inlet jetties and navigational channels are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Ponce de Leon Inlet Operation and Maintenance Project which consists of an entrance channel which is 15 feet deep and 200 feet wide across the ocean bar; 12 feet deep by 200 feet wide and 12 deep by 100 feet wide to Indian River North; 12 deep by 100 feet wide southward to the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW); 7 feet deep by 100 feet wide in the Halifax River northward to the IWW; and ocean jetties 4,200 feet long and 2,700 feet long on the north and south sides of the inlet, respectively.[6]

Vessels navigating the inlet during low tide should exercise great caution due to the constantly moving sand shoals.

Excerpt from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL Operations and Maintenance Congressional Fact Sheet dated May, 2020:

"The unstable nature of the navigation channel in Ponce de Leon Inlet is a continuing safety problem as recorded by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has documented vessel groundings, capsized vessels, and over 20 lives lost in the vicinity of the inlet. The entrance and interior channels require the Coast Guard to frequently monitor and relocate aids to navigation due to the need to identify safe water."[6]

Historical Timeline

Source: Ponce Inlet Town History

  • 1513: Ponce de Leon explored the Ponce Inlet area.
  • 1803: Antonio Pons (Ponz or Ponce), a New Smyrna Minorcan, was granted 175 acres north of the inlet by Spain
  • 1812: Antonio Pons killed while serving the King of Spain during the Patriots War
  • 1820: Pons' widow received an additional grant of 230 acres in return for her husband's service to Spain
  • 1821: Florida ceded to the United States by Spain. Live oak lumbering began at Los Mosquitoes
  • 1834: First lighthouse built on New Smyrna side of Mosquito Inlet destroyed by Indians and a storm
  • 1870: Congress appropriated $60,000 to secure a site and build a lighthouse at the inlet
  • 1884: Brigadier General Orville Babcock appointed engineer to build the lighthouse and he named the local community Ponce (Pons) Park
  • 1887: Ponce Lighthouse went into service on November 1st
  • 1928: Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet
  • 1941: Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District was formed.
  • 1968: A Volusia County tax assessment was approved for the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District
  • 1969: North and south jetties at the inlet were completed.

Video

Ponce de Leon Inlet Video Playlist from the Indian River Lagoon News YouTube Channel.

See Also

Web Links

References

  1. ↑ (Template:ISOdate) Florida LighthousesTemplate:,Template:City⧼colon⧽ University of Florida PressTemplate:, ⧼colon⧽ 0-8130-0993-6.
  2. ↑ Ponce Inlet Town History, Retrieved on October 8, 2020
  3. ↑ Volusia County Ponce Inlet Port Authority
  4. ↑ ARTICLE VIII - PONCE DeLEON INLET AND PORT DISTRICT
  5. ↑ US Army Corps of Engineers Press Release dated 08-04-2020: Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 USACE - Ponce de Leon Inlet O&M Project
Indian River Lagoon Encyclopedia Article - Ponce de Leon Inlet
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