Fort Lauderdale Waterways - The "Venice of America" [4K]

Known as the "Venice of America", Fort Lauderdale, Florida has 165 miles of inland waterways across the city. The Fort Lauderdale area was known as the "New River Settlement" before the 20th century. Today, Fort Lauderdale is a major yachting center and one of the nation's largest tourist destinations. Fort Lauderdale is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth largest city in Florida. After Miami and Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale is the third largest city in the Miami metropolitan area, which had a population of 6,166,488 in 2019. Built in 1838 and first incorporated in 1911, Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838), younger brother of Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale. Development of the city did not begin until 50 years after the forts were abandoned at the end of the conflict. Three forts named "Fort Lauderdale" were constructed including the first at the fork of the New River, the second at Tarpon Bend on the New River between the present-day Colee Hammock and Rio Vista neighborhoods, and the third near the site of the Bahia Mar Marina. The first United States stockade named Fort Lauderdale was built in 1838, and subsequently was a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. The fort was abandoned in 1842, after the end of the war, and the area remained virtually unpopulated until the 1890s. It was not until Frank Stranahan arrived in the area in 1893 to operate a ferry across the New River, and the Florida East Coast Railroad's completion of a route through the area in 1896, that any organized development began.