Cape Sable

Cape Sable, Florida, is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving around to the north, reaching Ponce de Leon Bay, at the mouth of the Shark River. It forms the southern and western margins of Whitewater Bay. There are three prominent points on the cape, East Cape, which is the actual southernmost point of the Florida and United States mainland and the location of Lake Ingraham, the southernmost lake in the United States of America, Middle Cape, also known as Palm Point, and Northwest Cape. East Cape is at coordinates 25°07′02″N 81°05′17″W / 25.11722°N 81.08806°W / 25.11722; -81.08806. The cape has many lakes and some magnificent beaches. The cape is home to the mangrove diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum) and the Florida gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Before Hurricane Donna (1960) reduced their range, more than 3,000 of the now-endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis) used the cape.