Destin, Florida Destin, Florida Official seal of Destin, Florida Location in Okaloosa County and the state of Florida Location in Okaloosa County and the state of Florida Destin is a town/city located in Okaloosa County, Florida.
It is a principal town/city of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green waters.
Originating as a small fishing village, it is now a prominent tourist destination.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, over 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million visitors each year visit Destin. The town/city styles itself "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village", and claims to have the biggest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida. The town/city is positioned on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay.
Destin is titled after Leonard Destin, a New London, Connecticut fishing captain who settled in the region between 1845 and 1850. He assembled a New England colonial home at the locale of the Moreno Point military reservation. Captain Destin and his descendants fished the region for decades. Condominiums were first assembled in Destin amid the 1970s, although Destin was not incorporated as a municipality until 1984. The town/city has experienced rapid expansion since the 1980s. The town/city is positioned on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay.
Destin is near a several other metros/cities in the region.
The town/city of Fort Walton Beach is positioned to the west at the inlet of Santa Rosa Sound into Choctawhatchee Bay.
North of Destin, athwart the bay is Niceville, with the Mid-Bay Bridge linking the two by road.
At the tip of the peninsula is East Pass (also known as Destin Pass), separating it from Santa Rosa Island to the west.
East Pass is the only supply of Choctawhatchee Bay into the Gulf of Mexico, Many sources claim that the current pass was dug by hand with an inrush of water widening it inside hours.
The early pass appears (at the East end of Destin Harbor) in early maps and surveys from Spanish, French, and English surveyors, such as Thomas Jefferys's 1775 map The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana. Frequent dredging is required to keep East Pass navigable. The entrance to Destin Harbor, a lagoon between the beaches and the chief body of the portion of the peninsula, is positioned just north of the East Pass jetty.
According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 8.2 square miles (21 km2), of which 7.5 square miles (19 km2) is territory and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (7.95%) is water.
Destin is positioned at 30 23 36 N 86 28 31 W. Beach at Destin, 1973 An image of a Destin beach, showing the emerald green waters typical of the Emerald Coast The white beaches and emerald waters of the Destin region draw many tourists.
Florida's Department of Environmental Protection estimates that more than 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million annual visitors travel to the region to visit Destin. Visitors can charter fishing vessels from the harbor, and there are 12 beach access points in the city. Among the access points is Henderson Beach State Recreation Area.
A portion of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, the Okaloosa Day Use Area, is just athwart East Pass on Santa Rosa Island.
The sand on Destin's beaches is some of the whitest in the world. The sand comes from the Appalachian Mountains, and is made of finely ground quartz crystal giving the appearance of sugar. Residue flows down the Apalachicola River and is deposited into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the currents the sand drifts west along the Gulf Coast and settles from east of Panama City to the Alabama coast.
The first condominiums in Destin were assembled in the 1970s, and assembly continues today. Visitors play a large part in Destin's economy the city's populace of around 12,000 balloons to 40,000 amid the tourist season. Destin's surroundings include other prominent tourist destinations.
Sandestin, Florida, positioned to the east in Walton County, is a prominent golf and beach resort.
Further east along the coast are the master-planned improve of Seaside, recording locale of the 1998 movie The Truman Show; Grayton Beach, Florida; and Rosemary Beach, Florida.
To the west are Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach, and the Civil War fortification Fort Pickens is positioned at the end of Santa Rosa Island.
"Santa Rosa Sound/Emerald Coast".
Goggin, Emma, "Destin Is Still Luckiest Fishing Village Around", Playground Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Wednesday 19 March 1975, Volume 30, Number 35, page 2 - C.
"Welcome to the City of Destin!".
City of Destin.
"Vacation Info - History of Destin Florida".
"Destin History and Culture".
"East Pass Inlet Management Study Implementation Plan Certificate of Adoption" (PDF).
"The Coast of West Florida and Louisiana.
"Crab Island in Destin Florida: The Complete Visitors Guide".
"Climate Destin - Florida".
City of Destin.
Destin Fishing Rodeo.
"Destin Seafood Festival".
"You - Tube Search Results for Destin Seafood Festival".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Destin, Florida.
City of Destin Municipalities and communities of Okaloosa County, Florida, United States
Categories:
Populated places established in 1984 - Cities in Okaloosa County, Florida - Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico - Beaches of Florida - Destin, Florida - Cities in Florida - Former census-designated places in Florida - Beaches of Okaloosa County, Florida
|