Florida
Southeastern-most state of the USA; mainly a peninsula jutting into
the Atlantic, which it separates from the Gulf of Mexico; nicknamed
Sunshine State
Area:
152,000 sq km/58,672 sq mi
Capital:
Tallahassee
Towns and Cities:
Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville
Physical:
50% forested; lakes (including Okeechobee 1,800 sq km/ 695 sq mi);
low-lying, mostly less than 30 m/100 ft above sea level; Biscayne National
Park, a marine park with a living coral reef 320 km/ 200 mi long; Apalachia,
Ocala, and Oscoela national forests; the Florida Keys, 31 islands between
the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, including Key Largo, with
Crocodile Lakes national wildlife refuge; Tampa Bay; Everglades National
Park (a World Heritage Site, 5,000 sq km/1,930 sq mi), with birdlife,
mangrove and cypress forests, alligators
Features:
Fort Lauderdale; St Augustine, the oldest city in the USA; the Spanish
fortress, Castillo de San Marcos national monument; Penascola (1559)
with Spanish colonial buildings; Key West, with 19th-century buildings;
Tallahassee, with pre-Civil War plantation mansions; John and Mable
Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; Miami, with Art Deco district; Elgin
Air Force Base; John F Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral; Palm Beach
island resort; beach resorts on Gulf and on Atlantic; Daytona International
Speedway; Walt Disney World, and Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community
of Tomorrow) Center; Universal Studios Florida; fishing at Destin
Industries:
Citrus fruits, melons, vegetables, fish, shellfish, phosphates, chemicals,
electrical and electronic equipment, aircraft, fabricated metals
Population:
(1996 est) 14,400,000, one of the fastest-growing of the states; including
12% Hispanic (especially Cuban) and 13.6% African-American
Famous People:
Chris Evert, Henry Flagler, James Weldon Johnson, Sidney Poitier, Philip
Randolph, Joseph Stilwell
History:
Discovered by Ponce de Leon and under Spanish rule from 1513 until
its cession to England 1763; returned to Spain 1783 and purchased
by the USA 1819, becoming a state 1845. It grew rapidly in the
early 1920s, stimulated by feverish land speculation. Despite
the 1926 collapse of the boom, migration continued, especially
of retired people from the North. After World War II, resorts,
agriculture, and industry grew in importance. The space centre
at Cape Canaveral also contributed to the state economy. More
recently, Florida has become a banking centre, a development often
partially attributed to the sizeable inflow of cash derived from
the traffic in illegal drugs from Latin America. Because of its
proximity to Caribbean nations, the state became a haven for refugees
from such countries as Cuba and Haiti. Hurricane Andrew ravaged
S Florida and Louisiana in 1992, killing over 60 people and making
250,000 people homeless.
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