PortMiami

The Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, now stylized as PortMiami, is a seaport located in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, United States. It is connected to Downtown Miami by Port Boulevard—a causeway over the Intracoastal Waterway—and to the neighboring Watson Island via the Port of Miami Tunnel. The port is located on Dodge Island, which is the combination of three historic islands (Dodge, Lummus and Sam's Islands) that have since been combined into one. It is named in honor of 19 term Florida Congressman Dante Fascell.As of 2011, the Port of Miami accounts for 176,000 jobs and has an annual economic impact in Miami of $18 billion. It is the 11th largest cargo container port in the United States. In 2010, a record 4.33 million passengers traveled through the Port of Miami.HistoryEarly in the 1900s when a powerful hurricane hit Miami, it split the southern end of Miami Beach creating Government Cut and what is now known as Fisher Island. Shortly afterward, the cut was dredged along with a new channel to what now is known as Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami. This new access to the mainland created the Main Channel which greatly improved the shipping access to the new port. From these original dredging spoils which were disposed on the south side of the new Main Channel, new islands were inadvertently created which later became Dodge, Lummus and Sam's Island along with several other smaller islands.