De Soto National Memorial

Rich Latino history can be found throughout the United States, and during Hispanic Heritage Month that history is being celebrated in the National Park System.

De Soto National Monument is the park unit that commemorates the earliest event in American history. Though the site is only 30 acres, there's a lot to do for every member of the family.

Passage of time can, on occasion, be an insidious eraser of events. As we near the two-month "anniversary" of the blowout of the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, are we becoming numbed to its impacts, realized and potential?

A slurry of oil and tar balls roughly 2 miles long and a yard wide from the Deepwater Horizon disaster has been keeping cleanup crews busy at Gulf Islands National Seashore, while other parks in South Florida still have not been impacted.

As millions of gallons of crude oil continue to flow into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, the National Park Foundation is mounting a campaign to raise money to help national park units affected by the disaster.

With ocean currents, winds, and weather the powers behind the movements of the sprawling oil slick created by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, personnel at national parks along the Gulf Coast can only watch, wait, and prepare for the worst.

When Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived in Tampa Bay in 1539 he didn't probably have a kayak, but those watercraft are a great way for present-day visitors to explore the waters of De Soto National Memorial. New ranger-guided kayak tours of the Florida park are now being offered on Saturday mornings. Here's how to sign up for a tour.

The park marking the spot where Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto probably didn’t land in North America in 1539 turns 60 today. On March 11, 1948, Congress created the De Soto National Memorial in the mangrove swamp on Shaw’s Point, in Bradenton, Florida.