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We began our tour of the fort on the lower level. The tour guide told the history of the fort and some of the construction details. The Dry Tortugas Islands are dry, so cisterns were built into the fort elow this level rain water collected from the roof was filtered through sand and drained into the basement cisterns. However, things like frogs, snakes, and rats got into the water and mosquitoes lived there so the cisterns didn't work very well. This type of architectural photos seems to be a favorite of photographers.
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We went directly to the roof to continue the tour. This is our group with the tour guide near the only remaing cannon at the fort. The appearance to me was of a small hill with a trail leading back down to ground level. However, there actually was a two story drop-off. The distant lighthouse is actually visible in the photo print but it's just a blip on the horizon in this scanned image. The park ranger quarters are in the area of the fort on the left of this view.
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The tour group returned to the parade ground and then took a break for lunch. I went back to the roof to do some exploring on my own. The roof was covered with sand. There was a brick cornice along the edge. There was no railing along the roof of the fort but there were small metal signs along the edge of the bricks with warnings that the bricks were not safe to stand on. This area of wall was to the left of the entrance.
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This view was from the area near the cannon and shows the outside wall looking away from the entrance. I didn't get my directions while at the fort, but based on the shadows, the fort entrance must have faced the south or southwest.
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This is a view across the parade ground to the side opposite the fort entrance. The people on the roof there provide some scale for the size of the fort. It looks like they're right on the edge.
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We came by this lighthouse as we approached Fort Jefferson. I think we went by the north side of the fort, then circled around the west and docked on the south. The park headquarters building is just to the right of this photo. It is shown on another page.
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This shows the two ferrys at the dock. The small ferry arrived first and we disembarked. Then our ferry moved away and let the big ferry dock. Our small ferry then tied up alongside the big ferry. We walked across the aft deck of the big ferry to return to ours. I think all the sand was brought in to make the beach for the tourists. The moat and the low outer wall were actually built to provide a breakwater. The plaque on the brick ledge warn that the bricks are loose and unsafe.
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