Tarpon Springs

Amelia Island Fort Myers Key Largo Key West Manatee Miami Saint Augustine Sarasota Tarpon Springs Timucuan

Tarpon Springs

 

sponge industry

Tarpon Springs, city, Pinellas County, western Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico; incorporated as a city 1887. It is a resort city and a leading center of the U.S. sponge-fishing industry. The community, settled in 1882, is named for the tarpon, a fish found in abundance off the coast. Many Greek immigrants came here after 1905 to continue their traditional trade of sponge diving. The Epiphany ceremony, an old Greek Orthodox rite, is a colorful event each January 6. Population 13,251 (1980); 17,906 (1990); 19,016 (1998 estimate).

Text from Microsoft, Encarta

 

the sponge fleet

 

Adonis putting on the Diving gear

 

getting ready to enter the water

 

in the water with the diving helmet

 

found the sponge

 

getting back on board

 

more of the fleet

 

sponges on the deck

 

sponge boat

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Amelia Island Fort Myers Key Largo Key West Manatee Miami Saint Augustine Sarasota Tarpon Springs Timucuan

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