Florida Geography

Basic Facts

• Geographical Region: South
• Size: 65758 sq.mi., 22th rank overall.
• Admitted to Statehood: March 3, 1845
• Population: 18,537,969; 4th rank overall.
• Capital: Tallahassee
• Other Major City: Jacksonville
• Abbreviation: FL

Fun Facts

• Nickname: Sunshine State
• State Flag: Click Here (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Bird: Mockingbird (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Flower: Orange Blossom (opens window to 50states.com)

Geographical Description

• Florida is made up of three geographic land areas: The Atlantic Coastal Plain which covers the eastern part of Florida is low and level; the East Gulf Coastal Plain encompasses the coastal areas that border the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Uplands run along the northern edge of the Florida Panhandle characterized by low rolling hills of red clay.
• Major rivers include the St. Johns, the St. Marys and the Suwannee River, and major lakes are Lake Okeechobee and Lake George.
• Florida contains 11,761 square miles covered by water, making it the 3rd wettest state behind Alaska and Michigan

Map: Relief Map of FL

Industry

Tourism, electric equipment, food processing, printing and publishing, transportation equipment, machinery, phosphate mining, aerospace

Agriculture

Citrus fruit, oranges, tomatoes, strawberries, celery, nursery stock, cattle, sugarcane, dairy products

Other Information

Fun Facts:

• Tony Jannus flew the world's first scheduled passenger service airline flight from Petersburg's downtown yacht basin to Tampa on January 1, 1914.
• In 1851, Dr. John Gorrie from Apalachicola invented mechanical refrigeration.
• Ever wonder which city in the U.S. has the highest average temperature?: The answer is Key West.
• One of the few rivers that flows north instead of south is the Saint John's River.
• Installed uniquely for rollerbladers, Miami was the first to feature bank automated teller machines.
• The world's largest strawberry shortcake was produced in Plant City, Florida. It was 827 square-feet, 6,000 pound cake made on Feb. 19, 1999.
• DeFuniak Springs is home to one of the two naturally round lakes in the world.
• Ft. Lauderdale has 185 miles of local waterways, earning it the nickname of "Venice of America."
• Florida is the only state that has 2 rivers both with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee in north central Florida (Madison County) and a Withlacoochee in central Florida. They have nothing in common except the name.
• The oldest European settlement in North America is Saint Augustine.
• The southernmost state in the United States is not Florida, but Hawaii.
• Clearwater is the city with the highest rate of lightning strikes per capita in the United States.

More Fun Facts: http://www.50states.com/facts/florida.htm