Fort Jefferson: Man-Made Engineering Miracle at Sea
Few things that I’ve ever seen at sea are as jaw-dropping as Fort Jefferson. No matter how much you research about it before you go, that initial sight of the structure will still blow your mind. I mean, it’s a fort. A very, very large fort. In its entirety, Fort Jefferson covers a massive 16 acres. This makes it the largest masonry brick structure in the Americas.
(In a quirky bit of symmetry, the fort is also comprised of 16 million bricks.)
These stats are super impressive, but they don’t do much to prepare you for the sight above.
As massive as it is, Fort Jefferson literally appears to sit atop the sea. Its location, 68 miles west of Key West, is about as remote as you can get while still remaining in a mainland USA county.
This is the open ocean. There shouldn’t be any permanent man-made structures out here, much less one as huge as Fort Jefferson.
Yet, here it is, inviting one of the more unique travel experiences found anywhere.