Florida or Florida (this last name used mainly by Spanish speakers in the USA, as well as Cubans and Puerto Ricans) is one of the fifty states that, together with Washington D.C., form the United States of America, located in the southern region of the country. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida ranks 22nd in terms of area and third in terms of population.
Jacksonville is the most populated city in the state and the largest city by area in the continental territory of the United States (due to the consolidation of Jacksonville with Duval County). The Miami Metropolitan Area is the most urbanized area of the state. Tallahassee is the state capital.
About two-thirds of the state forms a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Florida has the longest coastline in the continental United States, approximately 1,350 miles, not including the contribution of the Barrier Islands. It is the only state bordering both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate ranges from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south.
The American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in Everglades National Park in the southern part of the state. Because of its large coastline, Florida is the only continental U.S. state with a tropical climate (the other state with this type of climate is Hawaii).
Since the arrival of Spanish explorers under Juan Ponce de León, who named it La Florida, in 1513, the territory was a challenge to European colonialism before becoming a state of the Union in 1845. It was the main theater of the Seminole Wars and was characterized by racial segregation after the Civil War. In the 21st century, Florida is distinguished by its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, as well as by its growing environmental problems. The state’s economy is based primarily on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also recognized for its amusement parks (such as Walt Disney World, Bush Gardens, and Universal Studios Florida), its citrus groves, its winter vegetables, the Kennedy Space Center, and as a popular tourist destination among American retirees.
Florida’s culture is a reflection of multiple influences; African, European, indigenous, and Hispanic American heritage can be found in the architecture and cuisine. Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway, and Tennessee Williams. It is internationally known for sports such as golf, tennis, motorsports, and water sports.
ETYMOLOGY
The Florida Peninsula was discovered by Juan Ponce de León on Easter Monday in the year 1513. Since Easter is also known as Pascua Florida, the peninsula was named: Florida Peninsula
Physical Geography
Most of the state is situated on a narrow, elongated peninsula; the largest in the United States. It is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Georgia and Alabama to the north. To the south, the Strait of Florida separates the country from the island of Cuba.
Spanning two time zones, it extends northwestward, forming a salient that runs along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is the only state bordering both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida is also the southernmost state of the 48 contiguous states, and Hawaii is the only state that extends farther south. Florida is west of the Bahamas and 140 km north of Cuba. Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River, with only Alaska and Michigan being larger by water area. The water boundary is 3 nautical miles (3.5 mi; 5.6 km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and 9 nautical miles (10 mi; 17 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Florida is made up of a plain that extends along the northern Gulf of Mexico and a peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Gulf of Mexico on the west. It is bordered to the north by the states of Georgia and Alabama. Among the parks is Biscayne National Park.
Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River, with only Alaska and Michigan being larger by water area. The ocean boundary is 3 nautical miles (3.5 mi; 5.6 km) offshore in the Atlantic Ocean and 9 nautical miles (10 mi; 17 km) offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
The summit of Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida at 105 m (335 ft; 10 mi) above sea level. m., which is in northern Walton County. Most of the state south of Orlando is at a lower elevation than the north of the state, and is generally fairly flat. Much of the state is at or near sea level.
However, some places such as Clearwater have headlands that rise 15 to 30 m a.s.l. The highest point on the Florida peninsula (east and south of the Suwanee River), Sugarloaf Mountain, is a 95 m a.s.l. peak in Lake County.
Ancient Native Americans of Florida, Discovery and Exploration by the Spanish
Archaeological research indicates that Florida was first inhabited by paleo-Indians, the earliest human inhabitants of the American continent, perhaps as early as 14,000 years ago. The region was continuously inhabited through the Archaic Period (until about 2000 B.C.). After about 500 B.C. C. The previously relatively uniform archaic culture began to merge into distinct local cultures. By the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee (of northwestern central Florida), the Timucua (of northern and central Florida), the Ai (of the central Atlantic coast), the Tocobaga (of the Tampa Bay area), the Calusa (southwestern Florida), and the Tequesta (of the southeastern coast).
It was discovered jointly by Juan Ponce de León, the Pinzón Brothers, Juan Díaz de Solís, and Amerigo Vespucci as they sailed around the Gulf of Mexico, while the eastern part was surveyed in 1498 by John Cabot. At the beginning of the 16th century, various provisions that authorized the transport of natives from places where there was no gold allow us to suppose that several other unknown travelers reached Florida (then considered an island under the name of Bimini) until April 2, 1513,11 when Ponce de León took possession of that supposed island, giving it its current name, either because of the beauty of its land or because of the Easter Island festival. According to tradition, the main reason that led Ponce de León to explore this part of North America was to find the Fountain of Youth (or fountain of eternal youth) that indigenous stories believed was located in one of the springs or at the bottom of a ford on the Florida peninsula. He must not have been the first Spaniard to arrive in that land, since he found at least one native in 1513 who could speak Spanish.
Hernández de Córdoba reached it, together with Antón de Alaminos, in 1517; Later, Juan de Grijalva (1518), Camargo (1519) and, above all, Álvarez de Pineda confirmed, upon completing the exploration of the Gulf of Mexico, the continentality of Florida. With the news given by these discoverers, Pope Leo X erected the diocese of Santiago de la Florida on December 5, 1520.
On the other hand, the expeditions organized that year by Diego Caballero and Ortiz de Matienzos to capture natives, even though they were contrary to the laws that the Spanish Crown established for the colonization of America (the so-called «Laws of the Indies»), were put into practice by Gordillo and Quexos and posed a problem for the establishment of the Church in that place. Possibly this is why Ponce de León’s second expedition, carried out in 1521, was received hostilely and he died shortly after from the wounds he received.
In 1523, Vázquez de Ayllón organized an expedition, with authorization from Emperor Charles I of Spain, to search for the northern passage to the Spice Islands, exploring the eastern coast of the current United States (the states of Virginia and North Carolina).
In 1525, Esteban Muñoz searched the coasts from Newfoundland to Florida in search of the Strait of Anián. That same year, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (see Tierra de Ayllón) sent two ships to Quexos, and then, in June 1526, he himself set out, reaching the cape now called Cape Fear and dying in October of that year. The exploration of the continental lands began with the ill-fated expedition of Narváez, who landed in the vicinity of Tampa in April 1528. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and four other survivors crossed North America from east to west in a long eight-year voyage.
In 1538, the expedition led by Hernando de Soto left Spain,11 which carried out a similar epic voyage of discovery, also leaving from Tampa, crossing the Appalachian Mountains until reaching practically the middle course of the Mississippi River. It should be noted that in the 16th century and until the end of the 18th century, the name Florida was given to a much larger territory than that currently known by that name. The Florida government that Hernando de Soto claimed included the current states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, with the northern border approximately at the 36°N parallel or, somewhat further south, at the Cape Hatteras parallel.
ECONOMY
Florida’s economy is strongly based on tourism. The mild climate for most of the year and the many miles of beaches attract numerous tourists from all over the world. Walt Disney World, the Walt Disney theme park and the largest of the chain, located near Orlando, drives the activity in the area, along with other theme parks that have been progressively installed, such as Universal Studios.
The large amount of sales taxes collected by the state is what allows Florida to have no income tax. Other important industries are citrus and juice production, banking and phosphate mining. Since the arrival of the space program at Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s, Florida has attracted numerous aerospace and military industries.
Florida’s economy is based on tourism: nearly one million of the state’s 18.8 million people work in tourism. Amelia Island is a popular island for its beaches, historic downtown district, and the ability to see turtle nests and whales swimming off the shore.
Florida does not charge income taxes and relies on sales taxes, with tourism contributing a large percentage. For example, in Amelia Island County, 35% of taxes come from tourism, although the other counties’ share hovers around 17%.