Treasure Coast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Treasure Coast is the commonly used term for a region in the U.S. state of Florida stretching from south of Hobe Sound in the south to north of Sebastian in the north, including all of the coastal counties of Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin. The inland county of Okeechobee is sometimes considered a part of the Treasure Coast, although it is included in the Florida Heartland. Okeechobee is included with the three coastal counties in the Indian River State College district and in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit.[1] The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council based in Stuart, which has jurisdiction over the counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin does not include Okeechobee but does include Palm Beach, which is usually considered part of the Gold Coast.[2]
The name "Treasure Coast" is derived from a number of ships of Spanish galleons (especially those of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet) that wrecked off the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries. Artifacts from these ships have been recovered in the past fifty years, both by amateur and professional treasure-hunters.
[edit] Metropolitan Areas
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. The United States Census Bureau separates the Treasure Coast into two metropolitan statistical areas.
| Metropolitan Statistical Areas | 2005 Population | |
| Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area |
381,033 | |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area | 130,043 |
The Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area includes St. Lucie and Martin counties. The Sebastian-Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area includes only Indian River County. Okeechobee County is not included in either area.
[edit] Major cities
A list of major cities in the Treasure Coast and their estimated 2004 population:
- Port St. Lucie (141,000)
- Fort Pierce (37,959)
- Palm City (20,097) (2000 census)
- Sebastian (18,671)
- Vero Beach (17,209)
- Stuart (15,728)
- Hobe Sound (11,376) (2000 census)
- Jensen Beach (11,100) (2000 census)
- Okeechobee (5,376) (2000 census)
[edit] References
