Treasure Coast

The Treasure Coast area includes parts of two metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies: the Port St. Lucie MSA (comprising St. Lucie and Martin counties) and the Sebastian–Vero Beach, Florida MSA (comprising Indian River County).

[1] The term was coined by John J. Schumann Jr. and Harry J. Schultz of the Vero Beach Press Journal newspaper shortly after salvagers began recovering Spanish treasure off the coast in 1961.

These are: All of the Treasure Coast is shielded from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow sandbars and barrier islands that protect the shallow lagoons, rivers, and bays.

At certain seasons of the year, bridges may impede the red drift-algal flow, causing a "rotten egg" hydrogen sulfide odor in the area.

The Treasure Coast is also bordered by the Atlantic portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, a stretch of closed water from Brownsville, Texas, to Boston, Massachusetts.

Despite its large population, the Treasure Coast has only two major north–south highways running through the area: Florida's Turnpike (a toll road) and Interstate 95.

Shortly after leaving Stuart, the road parallels the St. Lucie Canal along its southern edge until both terminate along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.

[11] In 2023, Brightline, an inter-city rail route that currently runs between Miami and Orlando, announced that it was looking for sites for a new station on the Treasure Coast.

[12] On March 4, 2024, Brightline officially announced that an infill station on the Treasure Coast would be built in Stuart, with service now projected to begin by 2028.