The Florida Portal
Florida (/ˈflɒrɪdə/ ⓘ FLORR-ih-də; Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ⓘ) is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee. Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the first European to make landfall in the region and it is thought he named it either La Florida (the place of flowers) or La Pascua Florida (the festival of flowers, an alternative name for Easter Sunday in Spanish), giving the territory its present name. Spain subsequently incorporated Florida into the Spanish Empire in the early 16th century. In 1565, it founded St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the United States. The region was frequently coveted and attacked by Great Britain throughout the 18th century. Britain briefly gained control of Florida in 1763, but Spain recovered it in 1783 following the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Florida remained under Spanish rule until it was ceded to the United States in 1821, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Spanish sovereignty in Texas and the resolution of the border dispute along the Sabine River. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868. Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy, with a gross state product (GSP) of $1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the fifteenth-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism, hospitality, agriculture, real estate, and transportation. Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida is a popular destination for retirees, seasonal vacationers, and both domestic and international migrants. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture, identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in European, Latino, African, Indigenous, and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of the most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Florida has been known for being a battleground state in American presidential elections, although it has turned increasingly Republican in recent years. (Full article...) Selected article -The Apalachee massacre was a series of raids by English colonists from the Province of Carolina and their Muscogee allies against a largely peaceful Apalachee population in northern Spanish Florida which took place in January 1704 during Queen Anne's War. Against limited Spanish and Apalachee resistance, a network of Catholic missions was destroyed by the raiders; most of their population were either killed, captured, fled to larger Spanish and French outposts, or voluntarily joined the English. The only major event of former governor of Carolina James Moore Sr.'s expedition was the Battle of Ayubale, which marked the only large-scale resistance to the raids by the Spanish and Apalachee. Significant numbers of the Apalachee, unhappy with the conditions they lived in under in the Spanish missions, simply abandoned their towns and joined Moore's expedition. They were resettled near the Savannah and Ocmulgee Rivers, where living conditions proved to be only slightly better. (Full article...) Did you know...
Selected quote -General images -The following are images from various Florida-related articles on Wikipedia.
Related portalsSelected biography -Daniel Alan Webster (born April 27, 1949) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 11th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2011. He represented Florida's 10th congressional district from 2011 to 2017 (numbered as the 8th district during his first term). Before his congressional service, he served 28 years in the Florida legislature. He was the first Republican Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives since Reconstruction. After receiving his engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Webster worked in the family air conditioning and heating business he now owns and operates. He has been a resident of Florida since the age of seven and resides in Clermont. First elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980 and the Florida Senate in 1998, Webster is the longest-serving legislator in Florida history. He became Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (1996–1998) and Florida Senate majority leader (2006–2008); he left the legislature after reaching the legal term limits. He ran unopposed in all of his elections for the state legislature except for the first three: 1980, 1982, and 1984. (Full article...) Selected images -
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WikiProjectsSelected panorama -The Seven Mile Bridge, in the Florida Keys, runs over a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait, connecting Knight's Key (the location of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway. TopicsQuality content
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