Florida Information

Florida Facts & Information

State Capital: Tallahassee

Nickname: The Sunshine State

State's Song: Suwannee River

State Flower: Orange Blossom

State Motto: In God we trust

State Tree: Sabal Palm

State Mammal: Florida Manatee

State Shell: Horse Conch

State Bird: Mockingbird

State Gem : Moon Stone

Saltwater Fish: Atlantic Sailfish

Freshwater Fish: Large Mouth Bass

State Animal: Florida Panther

STATE FLAG

State Seal

	Discovered April 2nd 1513 by Spanish Explorer Ponce De Leon
	First permanent European settlement: St. Augustine 1565
	Became U.S. Possession: 1821
	Became A State: 1846 ,it was the 25th state admitted to the union

Geography

	Land area flooded encompasses 54,136 square miles of in land water area for total area of 58,560 square miles
	Florida is: The nation's 23rd largest State in total area
	Coastal Area :Florida has the largest tidal coastline in the continuous U.S. with 8462 miles
	Florida Contains more than 30,000 lakes within its boundary which range from very small to the nation's fourth-largest natural lake Lake Okeechobee

Florida was named for the day on which it was discovered (April 2, 1513) by Spanish explorer Ponce de León, who called it La Florida in honor of Pascua Florida, the Spanish Feast of the Flowers at Eastertime.

Florida is located in the southeaster, a long peninsula bordered on the north by Georgia and Alabama, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Gulf of Mexico.

At 58,681 square miles, Florida is the 21st largest state. The highest elevation is in Walton County at 345 feet while the lowest elevation is the Atlantic Ocean at sea level
Florida was settled long before Europeans had discovered the peninsula. Some estimates suggest that Native Americans had arrived in Florida as early as 10,000 years before the first Europeans. European voyages of discovery began when Columbus discovered the islands of the "New World" in 1492.

Written records about life in Florida began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan Ponce de León in 1513. Sometime between April 2 and April 8, Ponce de León waded ashore on the northeast coast of Florida, possibly near present-day St. Augustine. He called the area la Florida, in honor of Pascua Florida ("feast of the flowers"), Spain’s Easter time celebration. Other Europeans may have reached Florida earlier, but no firm evidence of such achievement has been found.

French settlement of Florida began in 1562 as Huguenots, French Protestants, established themselves on the St. Johns River not far from the Spanish settlement at St. Augustine. This settlement was easily conquered by the Spanish, but Spain's early dominance of Florida was threatened over time by the expansion of English colonies from the north and French colonies from the west. By 1702, the English had sacked St. Augustine and, by 1719, the French had taken Pensacola.

Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 in exchange for Havana, Cuba, which the British had captured from Spain during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). Spain evacuated Florida after the exchange, leaving the province virtually empty. At that time, St. Augustine was still a garrison community with fewer than five hundred houses, and Pensacola also was a small military town.

The British had ambitious plans for Florida. First, it was split into two parts: East Florida, with its capital at St. Augustine; and West Florida, with its seat at Pensacola. The Apalachicola River became the boundary between them.

The two Floridas remained loyal to Great Britain throughout the War for American Independence (1776-83). Spain entered the war on the patriot side and as an ally of France in June 1779. The seizure of Pensacola from the British in May 1781 came at the end of the largest battle ever fought in Florida. In 1783, Spain regained control of the rest of Florida as part of the peace treaty that ended the American Revolution.

Americans joined the battles for Florida in 1803, following their purchase of Louisiana from the French. The history of Florida during this period is one of territorial gain and loss until 1821, when Spain ceded Florida to the United States of America.

Florida became the 27th State to united under America on March 3, 1845.
When the British evacuated Florida, Spanish colonists as well as settlers from the newly formed United States came pouring in. Many of the new residents were lured by favorable Spanish terms for acquiring property, called land grants. Others who came were escaped slaves, trying to reach a place where their U.S. masters had no authority and effectively could not reach them. Instead of becoming more Spanish, Florida increasingly became more "American." Finally, after several official and unofficial U.S. military expeditions into the territory, Spain formally ceded Florida to the United States in 1821, according to terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty.
What the U.S. inherited was a wilderness sparsely dotted with settlements of native Indian people, African Americans, and Spaniards.

As a territory of the United States, Florida was particularly attractive to people from the older Southern plantation areas of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who arrived in considerable numbers. After territorial status was granted, the two Floridas were merged into one entity with a new capital city in Tallahassee. Established in 1824, Tallahassee was chosen because it was halfway between the existing governmental centers of St. Augustine and Pensacola.

As Florida’s population increased through immigration, so did pressure on the federal government to remove the Indian people from their lands. The Indian population was made up of several groups-primarily, the Creek and the Miccosukee people; and many African American refugees lived with the Indians.

the U.S. government spent $20 million and the lives of many U.S. soldiers, Indian people, and U.S. citizens to force the removal of the Seminoles. In the end, the outcome was not as the federal government had planned. Some Indians migrated "voluntarily." Some were captured and sent west under military guard; and others escaped into the Everglades, where they made a life for themselves away from contact with whites.

By 1840 white Floridians were concentrating on developing the territory and gaining statehood. The population had reached 54,477 people, with African American slaves making up almost one-half of the population.

Beginning in the 1870s, residents from northern states visited Florida as tourists to enjoy the state’s natural beauty and mild climate. Steamboat tours on Florida’s winding rivers were a popular attraction for these visitors.
By the turn of the century, Florida’s population and per capita wealth were increasing rapidly; the potential of the "Sunshine State" appeared endless. By the end of World War I, land developers had descended on this virtual gold mine.

One of the most significant trends of the postwar era (1945-1960) has been steady population growth, resulting from large migrations to the state from within the U.S. and from countries throughout the western hemisphere, notably Cuba and Haiti.

Since the 1950s, Florida’s public education system and public places have undergone great changes. African American citizens, joined by Governor LeRoy Collins and other white supporters, fought to end racial discrimination in schools and other institutions.

Today, Florida attractions, such as the large theme parks in the Orlando area, bring millions of visitors to the state from across the U.S. and around the world.

The 1998 census showed Florida's population at 14,916,000. The State Capital is Tallahassee, other major cities or towns include Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Piece, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, Saint Augustine, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach.

Florida Fun Facts

	The phrase "cool as a cucumber" originates in Florida. On a hot Florida day, the pulp of a cucumber can be up to 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding air.
	The Seminole Tribe of Florida was a pioneer in Indian gaming, opening the country’s first large-stakes bingo hall on the Hollywood Reservation in 1979.
	The John G. Riley House in Tallahassee is the only known house still in existence that was owned by a former slave.
	Tallahassee, Florida's capitol city, was the only southern capitol east of the Mississippi River to remain in southern hands for the duration of the Civil War.
	Santa Rosa County's Blackwater River State Forest area offers over a million acres of protected wilderness with miles of hiking trails and canoeing routes, dubbed the "Canoe Capitol of Florida."
	More than 3,000 Seminole Indians live on six reservations throughout the state of Florida: Big Cypress, Brighton, Fort Pierce, Hollywood, Immokalee and Tampa.
	More than 150 life-sized dinosaurs live in Plant City at an outdoor dinosaur museum called Dinosaur World.
	The Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee is home to the largest collection of Spanish-colonial gold and silver (not including private ownership).
	Florida's State Wildflower, the Coreopsis, is planted on Florida roadsides for highway beautification. It is found in a variety of colors ranging from gold to pink.
	More than 3,000 Seminole Indians call South Florida home.
	Miami Beach pharmacist Benjamin Green invented the first suntan cream in 1944.
	Old Christ Church, an Episcopal church in downtown Pensacola's historic Seville Square, is Florida's oldest church (1832).
	The world's first commercial airline flight occurred in Florida in 1914 between Tampa and St. Petersburg.
	Florida's state beverage is Orange Juice and is served daily at four Official Florida Welcome Centers.
	St. Petersburg Clearwater claims to have 361 days of sunshine annually.
	The art deco district in Miami is home to the largest concentration of art deco architecture in the world.
	Pensacola's nickname is the "City of Five Flags" because throughout its history it has been under the rule of the Spanish, French, English, Americans and Confederates.
	Manatee County in southwest Florida is named for the gentle, slow-moving marine mammal once thought by sailors to be mermaids.
	Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, was named for the Spanish word meaning "purple island."
	Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had neighboring winter homes in Fort Myers.
	In 1987 the Florida Legislature designated the American alligator the official state reptile.
	Venice, in southwest Florida, is known as the Shark Tooth Capital of the World.
	The nation's smallest post office is located in Ochopee, Florida near Naples.
	Florida is home to the largest breeding population of bald eagles in the lower 48 states.
	Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators football team, where the drink was first developed.
	Plant City, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, holds the Guinness record for the world's largest Strawberry Shortcake. It was 827 square-feet and 6,000 pounds!
	Ten Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded to writers who lived on Key West, including Ernest Hemingway.
	Crystal River is the only place in North America where it is legal to have a supervised swim with gentle manatees.
	The Florida Everglades are the only place in the world where alligators and crocodile co-exist.
	The nation's smallest police station is located in Carrabelle on Florida's Gulf Coast.
	Boca Raton comes from the Spanish "Boca de Ratones" meaning rat's mouth, a term used by seamen to describe a hidden rock a ship's cable might rub against.
	A sampling of recent movies filmed in Florida include: 2 Fast 2 Furious, Sweet Home Alabama, Out of Time, Adaptation and the Punisher.
	Naples claims to be the "Golf Capitol of the World" with more holes per capita than any other community. In addition, with more than 160 golf courses, Palm Beach County has more golf courses than any other county in the U.S.
	Florida boasts more golf courses (1,370 and counting) than any other state in the U.S.
	The World's Largest Hard Rock Café, featuring a vast multilevel Café, is located in Orlando, at Universal Orlando Resort in the CityWalk entertainment complex. This Hard Rock boasts more pieces of rock 'n' roll memorabilia than any other location, including Beatles bricks from The Cavern Club and the doors from Abbey Road Studios.
	Famous rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist Ray Charles began his career playing dance-hall gigs in Tampa, Fla. In 1990, Charles received an honorary degree in music from the University of South Florida in Tampa.
	Florida covers 58,560 square miles (94.282 square kilometers) of area, of which 4,298 square miles (6.920 square kilometers) are water.
	Florida's southern tip at Key West is about 1,700 miles (2.740 kilometers) from the Equator, closer than any other point in the continental U.S.
	The oldest continuously occupied community in North America is St. Augustine, settled by Spanish explorers in 1565.
	Amelia Island, north of Jacksonville, is the only location in the U.S. to have been ruled under eight different national flags.
	The world's first building constructed using skyscraper (internal beam & curtain wall) technology was Jacksonville's six-story Dyal Upchurch Building, built in 1901.
	The longest fishing pier in the world is a portion of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge that extends one-and-a-half miles into Tampa Bay.
	The Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building is the largest building in the world in terms of internal volume. Its ceiling is so high (at 525 feet/160 meters) that rain clouds can form inside the structure.
	The largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world is in Lakeland.

Florida Beach and Waterway Facts

	Wherever you go in Florida, you're never more than 60 miles from the beach.
	Sand beaches, a Florida signature, account for 1,100 miles (1,770 km) of the state's 1,800 miles (2,898 km) of coastline.
	Florida has more than 8,460 miles (13,620 km) of tidal shoreline, second only to Alaska in that category.
	Florida beaches are home to 80 percent of loggerhead turtles in the United States.
	In May 2002, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Northwest Florida's Port St. Joe was rated the No. 1 beach in America by Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University, known to the world as "Dr. Beach."
	Sanibel Island is one of the 10 best beaches in the world for shelling, with more than 400 species.
	Florida is home to six underwater preserves: the Wreck of the Half Moon, Urca de Lima, San Pedro, The City of Hawkinsville, USS Massachusetts, SS Copenhagen and SS Tarpon.
	The coral reef found in Key West is the third largest in the world, and the largest in North America.
	Florida has nearly 8,000 lakes of 10 or more acres in size.
	The Saint Johns River in northeast Florida is one of the few rivers in the world that flows north instead of south.
	The world's deepest freshwater spring is Wakulla Springs near Tallahassee.
	The city of Lakeland in Polk County was named so because there are 19 lakes within city limits.
	There are more than 800 Florida Keys, stretching more than 180 miles! Key Largo is the longest key at 30 miles long and a half-mile wide.
	DeFuniak Springs is home to one of the two naturally round lakes in the world, Lake DeFuniak.