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State of Florida
Flag of Florida State seal of Florida
Flag of Florida Seal
Nickname(s): Sunshine State
Motto(s): In God We Trust
Map of the United States with Florida highlighted
Official language English
Capital Tallahassee
Largest city Jacksonville
Largest metro Miami
Area Ranked 22nd
 - Total 65,795[1] sq mi
(170,304[1] km2)
 - Width 162 miles (260 km)
 - Length 497 miles (800 km)
 - % water 17.9
 - Latitude 24°30'N to 31°N
 - Longitude 79°48'W to 87°38'W
Number of people Ranked 4th
 - Total 18,801,310[2]
 - Density 350.6/sq mi  (134.6/km2)
Ranked 10th
 - Average income $41,171 (36th)
Height above sea level
 - Highest point Britton Hill[3]
345 ft (105 m)
 - Average 98 ft  (30 m)
 - Lowest point Atlantic Ocean[3]
sea level
Became part of the U.S. March 3, 1845 (27th)
Governor Rick Scott (R)
U.S. Senators Bill Nelson (D)
Marco Rubio (R)
Time zones  
 - peninsula Eastern: UTC-5/DST-4
 - panhandle Central: UTC-6/DST-5
Abbreviations Fla., FL,, US-FL
Website www.myflorida.com

((La) Pascua) Florida is a state in the southeast United States. It is a peninsula, which means that water surrounds the state on three of four possible sides. To the west is the Gulf of Mexico, to the south is the Florida Straits, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2010, the population of Florida is 18,801,310.


Florida is a very flat state. It has no mountains. Northern Florida has hills because it is at the very end of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest hill in Florida is Britton Hill, in northern Walton County near the town of Lakewood, Florida. It is 345 feet above sea level. It is the shortest of the highest points in all other states.[4]

Florida has a very long coastline, which means lots of beaches. The Gulf Stream ocean current goes through the Atlantic Ocean near the east coast of Florida, so the water there is very warm compared to the Pacific Ocean. The Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida is also very warm because it is small and easily heated by the sun.

In the center of southern Florida is a very big lake called Lake Okeechobee. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States [5] and the second largest freshwater lake entirely within the lower 48 states.[6] Okeechobee is 730 square miles (1,890 km²), about half the size of the state of Rhode Island, and is very shallow for a lake of its size, with an average depth of only 9 feet (3 m).

A lot of south Florida used to be covered by a swamp called the Everglades. When Florida was first being settled, farmers found out the soil there was very good for growing plants. So they could use more of the land to plant, they drained a lot of the water away in 1882. In 1947, the state put in levees and canals to make more room for farming and houses. The Everglades is now about half the size it used to be.[7] Most of what is left is now the Everglades National Park. Lots of animals live there, including alligators and Florida panthers. Recently, Florida has been trying to restore the Everglades.

At the southernmost tip of Florida is a chain of islands called the Florida Keys. There are 4500 islands in the Keys. The most famous one is Key West.


Bahia Honda beach in south Florida.
Snow is very uncommon in Florida, but has fallen in every major Florida city at least once. Snow does fall sometimes in North Florida.

Florida is the Sunshine State. The reason for this nickname is its warm temperature. During the summer, temperatures may rise up to as high as 109 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40.5 degrees Celsius). Its average temperature is much warmer than many of the other states, but during winter, temperatures occasionally fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. In Florida there are many palm trees. Palm trees grow in places that have a warm climate and a lot of sunshine. Florida has both a rainy season and a dry season. Southern Florida does not have four separate seasons.[8]

Florida's sunny climate is very popular with visitors. The summer is great for surfing the waves and enjoying the beaches. The most popular sport in Florida is fishing. A lot of people also like to visit the beaches on the west side of Florida, near Tampa.

Florida also gets a lot of hurricanes. Florida is surrounded by warm water, which makes hurricanes get stronger. Hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, but sometimes a hurricane will hit outside of the season. Hurricane Andrew was a very bad hurricane that hit Florida on August 23, 1992. Florida's most active recorded hurricane seasons were in 2004 and 2005, when it was hit by hurricanes Charley (August 13), Frances (September 4–5), Ivan (September 16), Jeanne (September 25), Katrina (August 25), and Wilma (October 24).


The Florida Scrub Jay is found only in Florida.

Florida has many types of wildlife including:

In the 1930s, the Red imported fire ants were accidentally brought from South America to North America. Since then, they have spread to most of the Southern United States, including Florida. They are more aggressive than most native ant species and have a painful sting.[10]

A lot of non-native snakes have been released in the wild. In 2010 the state created a hunting season for Burmese, Indian and African rock pythons, green anacondas, and Nile monitor lizards.[11]


Launch of the U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The capital of Florida is Tallahassee, and Jacksonville is the state's largest city. Tallahassee is in the part of Florida called the panhandle, or the narrow part in the northwest. There are other big cities in Florida, like Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

Orlando is home to many amusement and theme parks, like Walt Disney World Resort, Sea World, and Universal Studios. Millions of tourists visit Orlando each year. There is also Busch Gardens in Tampa.

The oldest city in Florida is St. Augustine, which was founded by the Spanish in 1565.

The Kennedy Space Center is on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, on Florida's Space Coast.


Florida has eleven state universities. They are Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida. The University of Central Florida has the most students. There are 28 private universities in Florida.

Other pages


  1. 1.0 1.1 2000 Census
  2. "Resident Population Data". 2010.census.gov. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-dens-text.php. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S Geological Survey. 29 April 2005. http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  4. Main, Martin B.; Allen, Ginger M. (July 2007). "The Florida Environment: An Overview". University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Archived from the original on 2010-11-20. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW268. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  5. Muller, Peter O. "Lake Okeechobee." World Book Online Reference Center. 2008. 12 Jan. 2008 <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar309640>
  6. http://sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/lakeokee/index.html
  7. U.S. Geological Survey (1999). "Florida Everglades". Circular 1182. U.S. Geological Survey. http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/circular/1182/. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  8. Melissa Stewart, Stephen K. Maka (2003). Life in a Wetland. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 11. ISBN 0822546876 . http://books.google.com/books?id=_WbzyhcWLHoC&pg=PA11&dq=Florida+does+not+have+%22four+distinct+seasons%22&ei=EsOISsvkJIvyyATj2O3ZDQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
  9. C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Wild turkey: Meleagris gallopavo, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
  10. "Not all alien invaders are from outer space". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2010-11-20. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/invasive/4fireant.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  11. "State creates season for hunting pythons". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. 23 February 2010. pp. 6B. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100224102357/http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100222/BREAKINGNEWS/100222008/Officials-set-new-python-hunting-season.