(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Today, thousands of visitors make the trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Soldiers no longer greet them when they arrive at Fort Jefferson. Friendly members of the National Park Service do. They meet every boat filled with visitors. They smile and say, “Welcome to Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas National Park.”
The small island’s days as a prison are long past. Yet almost every visitor to the Dry Tortugas National Park asks about its most famous prisoner, Samuel Alexander Mudd. They ask to see his room. Most people know that Doctor Mudd did not end his life in the Fort Jefferson prison.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Only a few of the huge cannon remain at the Park. These have been left to show visitors what the old fort looked like. The weather continues to affect the fort’s grounds and buildings. So workers continue the fight against the severe environmental damage.
A government program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is providing money to help keep Fort Jefferson standing. Workers are removing and rebuilding damaged areas of the walls.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The Park extends over an area of more than twenty-six-thousand hectares. Almost all of this is ocean and living coral reefs that protect the little islands.
Thousands of different kinds of fish live in the waters near the islands. Many ships have sunk in those waters over the centuries. Many are inside the area that is part of the national park. The wrecks of these ships help provide safe places for many of the fish.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25