| State of Florida | |
| Coordinates | 28°6’NB, 81°36’WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 170.451 km² (17,9% water) |
| Residents | 19.057.542 (136,4 inhabitants/km²) |
| Capital city | Tallahassee |
| Politics | |
| Governor | Ron DeSantis (R) |
| Other | |
| Time zone | −5 / −6 |
| Joined | 3 maart 1845 |
| Nickname | Sunshine State |
| ISO 3166-2 | US-FL |
| Website | myflorida.com |
Florida, satellite photo, red dots are hot spots
Florida is a state of the United States. Florida is located in the southeast of the country and has a subtropical climate. This is one of the reasons why many retired Americans are settling in Florida and the population is growing rapidly. As of 2014, it is the third most populous state after California and Texas.
The name of the state is derived from the Spanish name La Florida (The Flowery), whereby the emphasis is not on the i but on the o. The most widely spoken languages are English and Spanish.
Geography
Bordering Alabama and Georgia to the west, the Florida Panhandle exudes more of the Southern United States vibe than the rest of the state. The population has twice sought affiliation with Alabama. The west of the panhandle is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Gulf Coast Flatwoods stretch along Apalachee Bay. On the border with Georgia stretches the Okefenokee Swamp. The Uplands are located between Jacksonville and Orlando. Beneath Tampa stretch the Southwestern Flatwoods that run through theCentral Ridges are separated from the Everglades Headwaters south of Orlando. This area of central Florida has a lot of ranch ranching. The state’s largest lake is Lake Okeechobee. To the south is the Everglades swampland. The Florida Keys stretch between Miami and Key West.
Cities
Here are top places in Florida:
- the capital Tallahassee.
- Jacksonville, the state’s largest city measured within city limits.
- Miami, the largest city in the state (measured by the entire metropolitan area), is very multicultural and includes the sixth largest urban Jewish population in the world. One third of the population is of Cuban descent and around ten percent is of Western descent.
- Orlando, known for its theme parks (including Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort).
- Daytona Beach, a vacation spot known for being popular for the (sexual) excesses of young people during their spring break, location of the Daytona International Speedway where the main NASCAR race is held annually, Daytona Beach also has some beaches where cars legally allowed to drive on the beach.
- Tampa.
Sights
According to JIBIN123.COM, the Florida Keys, a large number of small islands that rise just above sea level, stretch from Miami to the southwest. Kennedy Space Center and the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station serve as launch sites for NASA, commercial and military spaceflight. Close to Orlando is the Walt Disney World Resort.
Nature
In the south you will find the Everglades National Park, a vast nature reserve. This is where the mississippial ligator, the beaked crocodile and the Florida panther live.
Florida’s waters also have the largest population of manatees. This is because the waters are generally warm. The population numbers more than 3000 of these endangered animals. The Florida Keys are the protruding parts of a coral reef. Since 1963, Key Largo has been home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the United States’ first underwater park.
Administrative division
According to COUNTRYAAH, Florida is divided into 67 counties.
| County | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
County Seat | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
| Alachua | 240.082 | Gainesville | 114.375 |
| Baker | 25.745 | Macclenny | 5813 |
| Bay | 163.984 | Panama City | 36.805 |
| Bradford | 28.769 | Starke | 5928 |
| Brevard | 536.161 | Titusville | 43.934 |
| Broward | 1.759.591 | Fort Lauderdale | 183.606 |
| Calhoun | 13.594 | Blountstown | 2457 |
| Charlotte | 152.814 | Punta Gorda | 16.619 |
| Citrus | 140.169 | Inverness | 7248 |
| Clay | 182.023 | Green Cove Springs | 6403 |
| Collier | 315.839 | Naples | 21.653 |
| Columbia | 67.985 | Lake City | 12.277 |
| DeSoto | 34.675 | Arcadia | 6923 |
| Dixie | 14.942 | Cross City | 1828 |
| Duval | 849.159 | Jacksonville | 805.605 |
| Escambia | 306.407 | Pensacola | 54.283 |
| Flagler | 88.397 | Bunnell | 1948 |
| Franklin | 10.030 | Apalachicola | 2237 |
| Gadsden | 47.197 | Quincy | 6881 |
| Gilchrist | 17.017 | Trenton | 1843 |
| Glades | 11.109 | Moore Haven | 1716 |
| Gulf | 14.059 | Port St. Joe | 3579 |
| Hamilton | 14.301 | Jasper | 1795 |
| Hardee | 28.830 | Wauchula | 4553 |
| Hendry | 39.611 | Labelle | 4873 |
| Hernando | 169.070 | Brooksville | 7919 |
| Highlands | 99.349 | Sebring | 10.780 |
| Hillsborough | 1.174.727 | Tampa | 336.823 |
| Holmes | 19.245 | Bonifay | 2780 |
| Indian River | 131.837 | Vero Beach | 16.980 |
| Jackson | 49.287 | Marianna | 6290 |
| Jefferson | 14.451 | Monticello | 2519 |
| Lafayette | 7998 | Mayo | 1028 |
| Lake | 301.059 | Tavares | 13.661 |
| Lee | 590.564 | Fort Myers | 64.258 |
| Leon | 260.945 | Tallahassee | 168.979 |
| Levy | 39.065 | Bronson | 1052 |
| Liberty | 7851 | Bristol | 931 |
| Madison | 18.957 | Madison | 3050 |
| Manatee | 315.108 | Bradenton | 53.431 |
| Marion | 324.857 | Ocala | 53.491 |
| Martin | 139.182 | Stuart | 15.964 |
| Miami-Dade | 2.387.170 | Miami | 409.719 |
| Monroe | 73.223 | Key West | 22.682 |
| Nassau | 68.450 | Fernandina Beach | 11.543 |
| Okaloosa | 181.499 | Crestview | 19.451 |
| Okeechobee | 40.311 | Okeechobee | 5937 |
| Orange | 1.066.113 | Orlando | 227.907 |
| Osceola | 255.815 | Kissimmee | 61.777 |
| Palm Beach | 1.266.451 | West Palm Beach | 99.377 |
| Pasco | 462.715 | Dade City | 7095 |
| Pinellas | 917.437 | Clearwater | 106.642 |
| Polk | 574.746 | Bartow | 16.818 |
| Putnam | 73.821 | Palatka | 10.804 |
| Santa Rosa | 147.044 | Milton | 8580 |
| Sarasota | 372.073 | Sarasota | 52.488 |
| Seminole | 409.509 | Sanford | 50.468 |
| St. Johns | 175.446 | St. Augustine | 12.284 |
| St. Lucie | 260.939 | Fort Pierce | 40.195 |
| Sumter | 72.246 | Bushnell | 2228 |
| Suwannee | 39.525 | Live Oak | 7184 |
| Taylor | 19.771 | Perry | 6801 |
| Union | 14.991 | Lake Butler | 1923 |
| Volusia | 500.413 | DeLand | 26.883 |
| Wakulla | 29.726 | Crawfordville | – |
| Walton | 52.881 | De Funiak Springs | 4976 |
| Washington | 22.886 | Chipley | 3727 |
Politics
The Florida State Capitol. In the foreground the old building from 1845 and in the background the current building from the 1970s.
The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. The 2018 gubernatorial election was won by Ron DeSantis of the Republican Party. He took office as Florida governor in January 2019.
The legislature is made up of the Florida House of Representatives (Florida House of Representatives) with 120 members and the Florida Senate (Florida Senate) with 40 members.
Florida bans the right to vote for life in the event of a criminal conviction. This law was enacted in 1868, shortly after the abolition of slavery, to keep as many African Americans as possible out of the polls. In practice, because of this law, one third of the black population of the state has no right to vote. This rule applies in six more US states.
Like any state, Florida is represented in the United States Senate by two senators. One of them is from class 1, the other from class 3.
