Portal:Florida

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The Florida Portal

Florida is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico; Alabama to the northwest; Georgia to the north; the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean to the east; and the Straits of Florida and Cuba to the south. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population exceeding 21 million, it is the third-most populous state in the nation as of 2020. It spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km²), ranking 22nd in area among the 50 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, and the state's most-populous city is Jacksonville with a population of 949,611. 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 Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida ([la floˈɾiða] for its lush greenery and the Easter season (Pascua Florida in Spanish). Florida subsequently became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city. Florida was repeatedly contested by Spain and Great Britain before being ceded to the U.S. in 1819; it was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845. Florida was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the Indian Wars in U.S. history. 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 $1.4 trillion, is the fourth-largest of any U.S. state and the 16th-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; it hosts nine out of the ten fastest-growing communities in the U.S. 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 African, European, Indigenous, Latino, 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, particularly in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Florida has been considered a battleground state in American presidential elections, particularly those in 2000, 2016, and 2020. (Full article...)

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A satellite image of the lower Florida peninsula showing darkened portions south of Lake Okeechobee as the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp. The reddish area bordering the large inland lake is the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Before drainage, the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, were an interwoven mesh of marshes and prairies covering 4,000 square miles (10,000 km²). The Everglades is both a vast watershed that has historically extended from Lake Okeechobee 100 miles (160 km) south to Florida Bay (around one-third of the southern Florida peninsula), and many interconnected ecosystems within a geographic boundary. It is such a unique meeting of water, land, and climate that the use of either singular or plural to refer to the Everglades is appropriate. When Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her definitive description of the region in 1947, she used the metaphor "River of Grass" to explain the blending of water and plant life.

Although sawgrass and sloughs are the enduring geographical icons of the Everglades, other ecosystems are just as vital, and the borders marking them are subtle or nonexistent. Pinelands and tropical hardwood hammocks are located throughout the sloughs; the trees, rooted in soil inches above the peat, marl, or water, support a variety of wildlife. The oldest and tallest trees are cypresses, whose roots are specially adapted to grow underwater for months at a time. The Big Cypress Swamp is well known for its 500-year-old cypresses, though cypress domes can appear throughout the Everglades. As the freshwater from Lake Okeechobee makes its way to Florida Bay, it meets saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico; mangrove forests grow in this transitional zone, providing nursery and nesting conditions for many species of birds, fish, and invertebrates. The marine environment of Florida Bay is also considered part of the Everglades because its seagrasses and aquatic life are attracted to the constant discharge of freshwater. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

... that radio station WWBC in Cocoa, Florida, was forced to remove its transmitter tower from the Indian River when the site was sold to condominium developers?
... that Miami Spanish-language radio station WLTO was sold in 1972 to a new owner who did not speak Spanish?
... that U.S. general George Mathews attempted a failed annexation of Spanish Florida just months before the outbreak of the War of 1812?
... that in August 2017, Potential Tropical Cyclone Ten caused some of the worst flooding seen in western Florida in 20 years, just two weeks before Hurricane Irma struck the same region?
... that an executive of Florida station WFTL-TV declared that he had "faith in its future", only to sell it within months and for the station to close within three years?
... that Tracy R. Norris, the first female commander of the Texas Military Department, has masters degrees from Florida State University, the University of Texas, and the United States Army War College?

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Everyone has a gripping stranger in their lives, Andy, a stranger who unwittingly possesses a bizarre hold over you. Maybe it's the kid in cut-offs who mows your lawn or the woman wearing white shoulders who stamps your book at the library - a stranger who, if you were to come home and find a message from them on your answering machine saying, "Drop everything. I love you. Come away with me now to Florida," you'd follow them

— Douglas Coupland

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The following are images from various Florida-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Destruction in Lakes by the Bay near Miami following Hurricane Andrew (from History of Florida)
Image 2Juan Ponce de León was one of the first Europeans to set foot in the current United States; he led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. (from History of Florida)
Image 3A shell midden at Enterprise, Florida in 1875. (from History of Florida)
Image 4Kennedy Space Center. (from History of Florida)
Image 5A 1527 map by Vesconte Maggiolo showing the east coast of North America with "Tera Florida" at the top and "Lavoradore" at the bottom. (from History of Florida)
Image 6Soldiers and crowds in Downtown Miami 20 minutes after Japan's surrender ending World War II (1945). (from History of Florida)
Image 7A map of Florida, as seen from outer space. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 8Tourists hunting in 1893 (from History of Florida)
Image 9The expanded West Florida territory in 1767. (from History of Florida)
Image 10South Florida's climate is ideal for growing sugarcane. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 11Timucua Indians at a column erected by the French in 1562 (from History of Florida)
Image 12Sunniland stratigraphic column (from Environment of Florida)
Image 13Royal Poinciana tree in full bloom in the Florida Keys, an indication of South Florida's tropical climate (from Geography of Florida)
Image 14Sunniland Oil Fields (from Environment of Florida)
Image 15Five flags of Florida, not including the current State Flag or France. (from History of Florida)
Image 16Andrew Jackson served as the first military Governor of Florida. (from History of Florida)
Image 17Topographic map of Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 18Snow is very uncommon in Florida, but has occurred in every major Florida city at least once; snow does fall very occasionally in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 19The Battle of Olustee was the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida. (from History of Florida)
Image 20Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort (from History of Florida)
Image 21Key deer in the lower Florida Keys (from Geography of Florida)
Image 22"Butterfly ballot" (from History of Florida)
Image 23Platydemus manokwari in Florida (from Environment of Florida)
Image 24Alligator in the Florida Everglades (from Geography of Florida)
Image 25Fall foliage in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 26A depiction of what might be Florida from the 1502 Cantino map (from History of Florida)
Image 27Typical summer afternoon shower from the Everglades traveling eastward over Downtown Miami (from Geography of Florida)
Image 28The brick Capitol as built in 1845. (from History of Florida)
Image 29Bernard Picart Copper Plate Engraving of Florida Indians, circa 1721 (from History of Florida)
Image 30Seminole leader Osceola. (from History of Florida)
Image 31Köppen climate classification map of Florida. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 32The Florida scrub jay is found only in Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 33A 1591 map of Florida by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues. (from History of Florida)
Image 34Hurricane Andrew bearing down on Florida on August 23, 1992 (from Geography of Florida)

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Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989.

A Korean War veteran, Chiles later returned to Florida for law school and eventually opened his own private practice in 1955. Three years later, Chiles entered politics with a successful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1958, as a member of the Democratic Party. (Full article...)

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Image 1Fort Brooke was a historical military post situated on the east bank (at the mouth) of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida
Image 2The main street in Alachua downtown historic district
Image 3Farles Prairie in Ocala National Forest
Image 4A Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich that originated among the Cuban workers in the cigar factories in Key West, Florida^[1]^[2]
Image 5Fountains at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa, Florida
Image 6A Great blue heron at Alafia River State Park
Image 7Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas
Image 8Florida from space, taken by Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998
Image 9Downtown Miami, viewed from Virginia Key

Current events

March 7, 2023 –: A Piper J-3 Cub and Cherokee Piper 161 collide in midair over Lake Hartridge in Florida, United States, killing four people. (AP via KCBD-TV)

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Credit: FightingRaven531

Tampa is a United States city in Hillsborough County, on the west coast of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447. According to the 2006 Census estimate, the city has a population of 332,888.

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Florida}}) or categorized correctly. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission (2023-03-07) • WVUP-CD (2023-03-02) • Jett Howard (2023-02-22) • WJXX (2023-02-01) • 2022 Gasparilla Bowl (2023-01-22) • William Everett Potter (2023-01-16) • Killing of Sara-Nicole Morales (2023-01-12) • 2022 Boca Raton Bowl (2023-01-08) • 2022 Cure Bowl (2023-01-01) • Pipeline: The Surf Coaster (2022-11-03) • Jamie Keeton (2022-10-06) • Skeeter Reece (2022-10-04) • 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final (2022-10-04) • Cauley Square (2022-09-12) • Dania Beach Hurricane (2022-09-11) • Cheetah Hunt (2022-09-05) • Sean Barber (2022-09-01) • Lee Wachtstetter (2022-08-31) • Tigris (roller coaster) (2022-08-28) • Ken Russell (politician) (2022-08-25) • Chaz Stevens (2022-08-22) • Hank Goldberg (2022-08-16) • Dwight Smith (baseball) (2022-08-07) • Mario Salcedo (2022-08-06) • WPST-TV (2022-07-24) • Lance McCullers (2022-07-23) • WAQI (2022-07-18) • Iron Gwazi (2022-07-11) • The Mutiny Hotel (2022-06-09) • NetPark Tampa Bay (2022-06-08) • Dave Thomas (politician) (2022-06-04) • Royal Theater (St. Petersburg, Florida) (2022-05-05) • Disney and Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act (2022-04-21) • Mary Hayes Davis (2022-04-17) • Jovani Furlan (2022-03-24) • Peter Walker (dancer) (2022-03-21) • Jack Sweeney (2022-03-15) • WGBS-TV (2022-03-03) • WITV (Florida) (2022-03-02) • Milam Residence (2022-02-25) • Lake Worth Beach, Florida (2022-02-10) • Zigzag House (2022-02-07) • Comedian (artwork) (2022-01-28) • WTNT-FM (2022-01-27) • Surfing Santas (2021-12-24) • Moms for Liberty (2021-12-19) • Dinosaur Wildlife (2021-09-03) • Alfie Oakes (2021-08-19) • Flora Mae Hunter (2021-08-18) • Potential Tropical Cyclone Ten (2021-08-15)

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Tag all talk pages of Florida articles and categories with {{WPFlorida|class=|importance=}}. (The rater user script can be used to help tag articles.)
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Add appropriate short descriptions to Florida-related articles.

Sources

^ "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.
^ "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

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[1] "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.

[2] "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

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v t e State of Florida
Tallahassee (capital)
Topics	Index Climate (Climate change) Congressional Delegations Districts Education Environment (Environmental issues) Fauna Flora Geology Government Hurricanes Law Mass media Newspapers Radio TV Symbols Flag Motto Seal Tourist attractions Transportation	Seal of Florida
History	Timeline Spanish Florida Missions British Rule East Florida West Florida Seminole Florida Territory Seminole Wars Slavery Plantations of Leon County Civil War Florida East Coast Railway Florida land boom of the 1920s Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center Disney World
Geography	Beaches Caves Everglades (Drainage and development) Keys Lakes Lake Okeechobee Reef Rivers Sinkholes Springs State forests State parks Swamps
Major hurricanes	Florida Keys (1919) Tampa Bay (1921) Miami (1926) Okeechobee (1928) Florida Keys (1929) Treasure Coast (1933) Labor Day (1935) Dry Tortugas (1944) Homestead (1945) Fort Lauderdale (1947) South Florida (1948) 1949 Florida hurricane Easy (1950) King (1950) Donna (1960) Betsy (1965) Eloise (1975) Elena (1985) Andrew (1992) Opal (1995) Charley (2004) Frances (2004) Ivan (2004) Jeanne (2004) Dennis (2005) Wilma (2005) Matthew (2016) Irma (2017) Michael (2018) Dorian (2019) Sally (2020)
Society	African-American Crime Cuban-American culture Miami Tampa Culture Demographics Economy Education Floridians Haitian-American culture Delray Beach Miami Indigenous peoples Everglades Politics Sports
Regions	Big Bend Central Florida Emerald Coast Everglades First Coast Forgotten Coast Gold Coast Halifax area Heartland Keys Nature Coast North Central Florida North Florida Panhandle South Florida Southwest Florida Space Coast Suncoast Tampa Bay Area Treasure Coast
Metro areas	Cape Coral–Fort Myers Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Gainesville Homosassa Springs Jacksonville Lakeland–Winter Haven Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Ocala Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Panama City Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Port St. Lucie Punta Gorda Sebastian-Vero Beach Sebring Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater The Villages
Largest cities	Jacksonville Miami Tampa Orlando St. Petersburg Hialeah Tallahassee Port St. Lucie Fort Lauderdale West Palm Beach Cape Coral Pembroke Pines Hollywood Miramar
Counties	Alachua Baker Bay Bradford Brevard Broward Calhoun Charlotte Citrus Clay Collier Columbia DeSoto Dixie Duval Escambia Flagler Franklin Gadsden Gilchrist Glades Gulf Hamilton Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Holmes Indian River Jackson Jefferson Lafayette Lake Lee Leon Levy Liberty Madison Manatee Marion Martin Miami‑Dade Monroe Mosquito (former county) Nassau Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam Santa Rosa Sarasota Seminole St. Johns St. Lucie Sumter Suwannee Taylor Union Volusia Wakulla Walton Washington