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The United States has ten protected areas known as national seashores and three known as national lakeshores, which are public lands operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National seashores and lakeshores are coastal areas federally designated by Congress as being of natural and recreational significance as a preserved area. All of the national lakeshores are on Lakes Michigan and Superior, whereas nine of the ten national seashores are on the Atlantic Ocean, including two on the Gulf of Mexico. National seashores are located in ten states and national lakeshores are in two other states. Florida, North Carolina and Michigan each have two. The largest national seashore or lakeshore is Gulf Islands (sign pictured), at over 137,000 acres (550 km2); the smallest is Fire Island, at 19,579 acres (79.23 km2). (Full list...)