South Beaches is an unofficial area in

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county se ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It includes cities, towns and unincorporated area on the

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

south of

Patrick Space Force Base Patrick Space Force Base is a United States Space Force installation located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick, United States Army Air Corps, ...

. The cities and towns include: South Patrick Shores,

Satellite Beach Satellite Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, U.S. The population was 11,226 at the 2020 United States census, up from 10,109 at the 2010 census, and it is located with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Banana River to the ...

Indian Harbour Beach Indian Harbour Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, ...

Indialantic Indialantic, officially incorporated as Indialantic-By-The-Sea, is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's population was ...

and

Melbourne Beach Melbourne Beach is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay, Florida, Palm Bay–Melbourne, Florida, Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, Metrop ...

, and the city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The government has historically labeled the actual beach areas differently. These names appear to be at variance with those in popular use. The "Mid Reach" includes the in Satellite Beach. The "South Reach" includes the in Indialantic and Melbourne Beach. The "South Beaches" only includes south of Melbourne Beach to Sebastian.

History

In 1605, Alvaro Mexia reported that the winter site of the former Ais Indian town of Pentoaya was right across the lagoon on the barrier island from what is now Ballard Park. However,

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about southeast of Orlando along the ...

makes the same claim.

Beach replenishment Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach c ...

is required to encourage tourism. Replenishment is planned every six years. In 2002, $15.5 million was spent to widen the beach in Indialantic and Melbourne Beach. There was a beach restoration project in 2005 in Indialantic to just north of Spessard Holland North Beach park, Melbourne Beach. This largely eroded a year ahead of expectation in 2009. The government is funding a $12.4 million project to replenish the of beachfront in 2010 for completion before May 1, the start of nesting season for the

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

. The federal government is contributing $7 million, the state $2.6 million, and the county $2.8 million. The project is expected to move of sand. The area south of Patrick Space Force Base to Indialantic, was skipped for fear of harming the threatened reef developing worm, sabellariids. $30 million is planned to replenish this beach from 2010 through 2013. In 2011, alcoholic beverages were allowed on the beaches themselves in most municipalities, except Satellite Beach and Indialantic. Some parks are restricted in Indian Harbour Beach. This stretch of barrier island is also home to Ponce de Leon Park, the site where many believe he first touched land on the North American continent.

Notes

Beaches of Brevard County, Florida Beaches of Florida {{BrevardCountyFL-geo-stub