Assateague Island National Seashore
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Worcester County, Maryland & Accomack County, Virginia, USA
Nearest city	Ocean City, MD & Chincoteague, VANearest city: Ocean City, MD & Chincoteague, VA
Coordinates	38°5′0″N 75°12′30″W / 38.083333°N 75.20833°W / 38.083333; -75.20833Coordinates: 38°5′0″N 75°12′30″W / 38.083333°N 75.20833°W / 38.083333; -75.20833
Area	39,630 acres (160 km²)
Established	January 1, 1965 Established: January 1, 1965
Visitors	2,110,918 (in 2007)
Governing body	National Park Service

Assateague Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park Service occupying much of Assateague Island along the Atlantic coast of Maryland and Virginia. It is a barrier island shaped by stormy seas and gentle winds. It lies adjacent to Assateague State Park and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Over 2.1 million people visit the park each year.

In the 1950s, some 5,000 private lots comprising what is now National Park Service land were zoned and sold for resort development. The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 halted the plans for development. The Nor'easter destroyed the few existing structures on the island and ripped roads apart. In 1965, Assateague became a National Seashore.

Bands of feral horses freely roam among plants and native animals that have adapted to a life of sand, salt and wind. Special thickened leaves and odd shapes reveal the plant world's successful struggle here. Ghost crabs buried in the cool beach sand and tree swallows plucking bayberries on their southward migration offer glimpses of the animal world's connection to Assateague.

[edit] Gallery

A deer walks along the Snow Goose Pool in the Assateague Island National Seashore, 2006-07-27.	protected dunes	wild horses	public beach
bridge	opuntia	Monument sign at entrance from Chincoteague

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Assateague Island National Seashore

• Official site

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