Anclote Key Preserve State Park

Anclote Key is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, the largest island in the Anclote Keys, located at 28°11′16″N 82°50′44″W near Tarpon Springs. Its name originates from the Spanish term for "anchor." The island is accessible only by boat and is split between Anclote Key Preserve State Park and Anclote National Wildlife Reserve. North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar, and Three Rooker Island (south of Anclote Key) are part of Anclote Key Preserve State Park. The island contains mangrove wetlands, coastal pine flatwoods, and beaches. A large number of shorebirds nest and breed on Anclote Key and the surrounding islands. Sand Key is located nearby. Most of the island is located within Pasco County, while its southernmost section is in Pinellas County. The island is home to the Anclote Keys Light. Anclote Key is the northernmost barrier island on the Gulf coast of the Florida peninsula. It is a wave-dominated barrier island, 3 miles (4.8 km) long, with tidal channels at each end. A mangrove forest extends along the landward side of the island. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the island has existed for about 1,200 to 1,500 years. Sand dunes up to 10 feet (3.0 m) tall occur on the island. Anclote Key has lengthened considerably since 1960, especially on the northern end. This growth has blocked the channel at the north end of the island.In the 1990s sand bars developed off both the north and south ends of the island, blocking the shallow tidal channels there. Both shoals grew and emerged above water. The new islands are now vegetated, and are known as North Anclote Bar and South Anclote Bar, respectively. The area around Anclote Key had little sand available for deposition on shoals and barriers in the middle of the 20th century. There was sand on the Gulf bottom, but it was anchored by beds of seagrass that extended almost up to the surf zone. In, or shortly after, 1960, the sea grass disappeared, and the bottom sand became available for transportation by wave and current action, providing material for those islands.

The Anclote Keys Light is a lighthouse built in 1887 on Anclote Key, the largest of the Anclote Keys. It is a skeletal square pyramidal tower, painted brown, with a black lantern. After the lighthouse was automated in 1952 the tower and other buildings at the site were often vandalized, interfering with the operation of the light. The Coast Guard determined that the light was no longer needed and deactivated it in 1984. The site was eventually turned over to the State of Florida and added to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. As of 2003 the lighthouse has been restored and relighted using a reproduction fourth-order Fresnel lens. Anclote Key is accessible only by boat.It is listed as Anclote Key Light number 1555 in the USCG light lists.

The Anclote Missile Tracking Annex was a Cold War radar station of 49.65 acres (20.09 ha) in Pasco County, Florida adjacent to the Alachua Pinellas community at the mouth of the Anclote River near Tampa. The Air Force Systems Command military installation, site D 3 of the Eglin Range Complex, was used for development tests, e.g., 1950s/1960s Regulus II supersonic cruise missile firings from the Venice missile launch complex. The Anclote site "phased down" May 1-July 1, 1969.

The Anclote River, running for 29 miles (47 km) near Tarpon Springs, Florida flows westward towards the Gulf of Mexico from its source of creeks and springs inland. The river is home to a variety of fish and wildlife. Anclote River is home to the sponging and fishing industries of Tarpon Springs (including a large shrimp industry). It is a major site for tourists of the area as it flows through the spongedocks of Tarpon Springs. An extension of the Pinellas Trail which crosses the Anclote River was dedicated on June 15, 2004. The new extension is built along abandoned Atlantic Coast Line railroad grade, which once serviced industry on the north side of the river.

Anclote High School is a public high school in Holiday, Florida, United States. The school opened in August 24, 2009 with grades 9 through 12; the first graduating class was in 2011. Vanessa Moon is the principal.

Key Vista is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Pasco County, Florida, United States. Its population was 1,757 as of the 2010 census.

St. Joseph Sound is a body of water on the Gulf of Mexico coast of Pasco and Pinellas counties. The sound lies between the mainland and Anclote Key, Three Rooker Island, and Honeymoon Island, from the north end of Anclote Key to the Dunedin Causeway. The Anclote River feeds into St. Joseph Sound.

Three Rooker Island, (also known as Three Rooker Bar) is an island in Pinellas County, Florida. The island is west of Tarpon Springs, south of Anclote Key and north of Honeymoon Island. It is accessible only by boat and its shape and size often change from interaction with ocean currents. Compared to neighboring barrier islands, Three Rooker Island is newly formed and emerged in the 1980s as water currents built up the sand bar above sea level. By the 1990s it was large enough for vegetation to establish itself on the newly formed island further stabilizing it and making it more resistant to washing away. Three Rooker Island is part of the Anclote Key Preserve State Park and is partially protected for nesting seabirds while also allowing it to be a popular place for local boaters.

Tarpon Springs High School is a public high school in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The school graduated its first class of seniors in the year 1906. The school is known for its football team, music conservatory, culinary department, and veterinary academy. Its mascot is the Spongers, reflecting the town's history of sponge diving. The student body was composed of 89% white, 4% African-American, 3% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Mixed-Race, and 0% American Indian. The majority of the school body was of Greek descent.

The Holiday Pacific and Southern Tower was a 468.7 meters tall guyed mast for FM- and TV-broadcasting located in Holiday, Florida, United States. It was built in 1979.The tower was unusual in that it was situated in a residential area, surrounded by houses. Generally, the area around guyed masts is not developed into private residences, owing to the likelihood of incidental property damage from ice (rare at this latitude) or grease (from periodic maintenance of the guys) falling from the guys to the ground below. Another factor is that the high proximal intensity of radio and television transmissions can be a source of electromagnetic interference, affecting the electronic devices of nearby homeowners. The Holiday Pacific and Southern Tower was dismantled in February 2012. A smaller radio tower built next to it in the 1990s and reportedly dismantled in 2013 (though still standing in 2019) was mistaken as being the Holiday Pacific and Southern Tower at an earlier date in this article.

Gulf Trace is a public elementary school founded on August 20, 2007, in Holiday, Florida. It was Florida's first Green LEED (Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design) school and is a part of the Pasco County School System. The school mascot is the "Sea Star" and their school colors are blue and gold.

The St. Nicholas III is a historic boat in Tarpon Springs, Florida. It is located at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks at Dodecanese Boulevard. On August 3, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.