This aerial photograph looks westerly first over the Atlantic Ocean, then over the Lake Worth Inlet (sometimes called the Palm Beach Inlet)
The inlet bifurcates a long barrier island into two parts. The part on the left or the southern part constitutes the Town of Palm Beach. The part on the right or the northern part includes Riviera Beach and the John D. McArthur Park. Beyond the bifurcated barrier island and the Lake Worth Inlet is the Lake Worth reach of the Intracoastal Waterway. The island in the middle is called Peanut Island.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the military built a bunker on Peanut Island for the protection of President John F. Kennedy, who vacationed in the family home on Palm Beach. Today, the site has been transformed into a park-like setting where families may picnic on the Island and visit the bunker. At low tide, boaters anchor about the Island, relaxing and enjoying themselves. Often at low tide, adults and children disembark their boats and wander about on foot.
In the late 1890’s, it was thought that inlets into the Intracoastal would serve a useful purpose in eliminating freshwater lilies and other fresh water plants from choking off several reaches in the Intracoastal where these plants grew more quickly.
Florida’s Big Dig 