Treasure Coast
From Freepedia
The Treasure Coast is a term for a region in the U.S. state of Florida stretching from Stuart, Florida in the south through Vero Beach in the north, including the coastal Indian River County, St. Lucie County, and Martin County. The landlocked Okeechobee County is sometimes also considered a part of the Treasure Coast.
The name "Treasure Coast" is derived from a number of ships of Spanish galleons (especially those of the Spanish treasure fleet) that are believed to have sunk off the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries. Artifacts from these ships have still been recovered today, both by amateur and professional treasure-hunters.
The Treasure Coast is sometimes considered a metropolitan area, though it is not nearly as large as the South Florida metropolitan area to the south. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the area had a population of 468,283 residents. However, the area is quickly growing and as of 2004 the Census Bureau estimated a population of 500,000.
The Metro area is sometimes also called the Port Saint Lucie metropolitan area, after Port Saint Lucie, the area's largest city.
Major cities
A list of major cities in the Treasure Coast and their estimated 2004 popualtion:
- Port Saint Lucie (118,396)
- Fort Pierce (37,959)
- Sebastian (18,671)
- Vero Beach (17,209)
- Stuart (15,728)
- Hobe Sound (11,376)
- Okeechobee (5376)
