Quick Facts about GTM Research Reserve

Quick Topics

GTM Research Reserve is composed of thirteen different management areas, cooperatively managed by seven different agencies.
The dunes at Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve are some of the highest in Florida - 35 - 40 feet.
The coastal waters of Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve are important calving grounds for the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Princess Place Preserve has Florida's oldest commercial orange groves planted in the early 1800s. The land is part of the original land grant from the Spanish Government in the late 1700s; it may be the only contiguous land grant remaining from that time period. The site contains one of Florida's first in-ground pools.
Matanzas Inlet, at Fort Matanzas National Monument, was the scene of crucial events in Spanish colonial history. The defeat of French soldiers here in 1565 initiated Spain's establishment of its first permanent colony in Florida. The construction of Fort Matanzas in 1740-42 was Spain's attempt to stop British encroachments on St. Augustine.
GTM Research Reserve's beaches consist of quartz sand, shells, shell fragments and pebbles from the Anastasia Formation, a sandy coquina held together by calcareous cement.

Right whale and calf