Gulf Breeze

Gulf Breeze is a city on the Fairpoint Peninsula in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States and is a suburb of Pensacola which lies to the north, across Pensacola Bay. The population was 5,763 at the 2010 census and by July 2016, that had increased to an estimated 6,466.Geography and climateGulf Breeze is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.5sqmi, of which 4.8 square miles is land and 18.8sqmi is water.Growth of the city itself is geographically restricted, surrounded by major water bodies on three sides; the eastern portion of Gulf Breeze is occupied by the Naval Live Oaks Reservation. As a result, new growth takes place east of the city limits along U.S. Highway 98.Points of interestIn 1828 the U.S. Government purchased the land encompassing the Naval Live Oaks Reservation for experimenting with acorns for the cultivation of live oaks to produce wooden ships. Before the Civil War, the wood of the live oak was the primary material of choice for shipbuilders, thus the protection and cultivation of the trees for the US Navy was considered vital for defense in those turbulent times.Currently, the land comprises over 1300 acres (5.3 km²) in Gulf Islands National Seashore and is supervised by the National Park Service. To the south of Highway 98 is a visitor's center for the Gulf Islands National Seashore and several public beach areas.