page_title: Manatee County, Florida
section_title: State & Nationally protected areas
hierarchical_section_title: Manatee County, Florida / Geography / State & Nationally protected areas
caption_attribution_description: English: Great Egret - Myakka River State Park. Taken by User:Mwanner, 13 February, 2007.
context_page_description: Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 US Census, the population was 322,833. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest city is Bradenton. The county was created in 1855 and named for the Florida manatee, Florida's official marine mammal. Features of Manatee County include access to the southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and the Manatee River. Manatee County ranks 15th among Florida counties in population.
context_section_description: De Soto National Memorial
  Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge
  Lake Manatee State Park
  Terra Ceia Preserve State Park
  Myakka River State Park
  Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site
caption: A great egret in Myakka River State Park
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