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Dry Tortugas National ParkA hole in Fort Jefferson (file photo) at Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park shows that Gulf of Mexico waters are clear and blue—at least for now.

The U.S. National Park Service has deployed personnel to Dry Tortugas and seven other Gulf Coast national parks that the agency says could be affected by the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

"Everything is currently open, and we're running regular park operations," said Park Service spokesperson Joan Amzelmo. "But we're also having a bunch of extra folks in those parks that are assessing the current and future impacts [of the Gulf oil spill] and doing everything they can to prepare, in the event that we have some temporary closures."

Dry Tortugas National Park's coral and sea grass communities are among the most vibrant in the Florida Keys, and sea turtles make their way to its beaches each summer to lay their eggs. (Take a Florida Keys quiz.)

Unlike some other Gulf Coast national parks, Dry Tortugas National Park is not yet visibly affected by the Gulf oil spill.(See pictures of animals caught in the Gulf oil spill.) (See the Intelligent Travel blog post Florida's Forgotten National Park.)—Ker Than
Photograph by Mike Theiss, National Geographic

Pictures: 8 National Parks Threatened by Oil Spill

Eight national parks lie in the trajectory of the Gulf oil spill, putting rare animals and pristine coastlines at risk, the Park Service says.

June 12, 2010