Ship Island
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Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands in 1969. In early 2019, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed the first stage of a project rejoining the two islands and recreating one Ship Island. Ship Island is the site of Fort Massachusetts, as a Third System fortification. Part of the island is included in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Aerial view of previously divided Ship Island, looking east (with West Ship Island in foreground)
Fort Massachusetts
Ship Island's original brick and mortar 1853 lighthouse.
Ship Island's 1886 wooden lighthouse. It was accidentally burned down in 1972 by campers.
Gulf Islands National Seashore is an American National seashore that offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. In 2023, it was the fifth-most visited unit of the National Park Service.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Pensacola
The color of the sand in the region is exceptionally white, as seen in this 1957 photo at Pensacola Beach, Florida, adjacent to the protected area designated in 1971.
Horn Island (in Mississippi).
Gulf Islands National Seashore geologic cross section