Anna Maria Island, sometimes called Anna Maria Key, is a barrier island on the coast of Manatee County, Florida in the United States. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, Manatee County is a County in the state of Florida. As of 2000 the population was 264002 Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, on the south by Longboat Pass (which separates it from Longboat Key), on the east by Sarasota Bay and Sarasota Pass, and on the north by Tampa Bay. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Longboat Key is a Barrier island and the coextensive town of the same name located on the central west coast of Florida in the United States of America Sarasota Bay is an Estuary located off the west coast of Florida in the United States. Tampa Bay is a large natural Harbor and Estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the western coast of Florida, comprising Old Tampa Bay

History

The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his crew entered the mouth of Tampa Bay north of Anna Maria in May, 1539, but passed it by to make their landfall on the mainland.

In 1892 George Emerson Bean homesteaded the northern 160 acres of the island and became its first permanent resident.

Municipalities

Anna Maria Island today is divided into the three cities of Anna Maria in the north, Holmes Beach in the middle, and Bradenton Beach in the south. Anna Maria, is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. Holmes Beach is a city on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida, United States. Bradenton Beach is a city on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida, United States. In 2005 the United States Census Bureau estimated the combined population of the three cities at approximately 8,500. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census

Transportation

The main north-south road on the island is Gulf Drive, which begins on the south end of the island at the foot of the Longboat Pass Bridge from Longboat Key. Gulf Drive is the only road that runs the entire length of the island. It is Florida State Road 789 south of Manatee Avenue in Holmes Beach and County Road 789 north of there. A 19-mile-long road along the Florida ’s Gulf Coast, State Road 789 spans Coon Key, Bird Key, St

There are two bridges across Sarasota Bay from the mainland: the Cortez Bridge which brings Florida State Road 684 into Bradenton Beach from Cortez, and the Manatee Avenue Bridge which brings Florida State Road 64 into Holmes Beach from the Palma Sola section of Bradenton. Cortez a Census-designated place (CDP in Manatee County, Florida, United States, is a small Gulf coast commercial fishing village that State Route 64 extends from Holmes Beach in Manatee County to Avon Park in Highlands County Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. Each of these state roads terminates at its intersection with State Road 789.

Adjacent islands

Adjacent to Anna Maria Island's bayside is the island of Key Royale, formerly known as School Key. It was uninhabited until 1960 when a bridge was built joining it to the Holmes Beach section of Anna Maria Island and development then began. It is included in the city limits of Holmes Beach. ^[1]

References