Encyclopedia
Florida is a
U.S. state located in the
southeastern United States. It was named by
Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the coast on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida .
Geography
Florida is situated mostly on a large
peninsula between the
Gulf of Mexico, the
Atlantic Ocean, and the
Straits of Florida. It extends to the northwest into a
panhandle, extending along the northern
Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by the states of
Georgia and
Alabama, and on the west, at the end of the panhandle, by Alabama. It is near the countries of the
Caribbean, particularly the
Bahamas and
Cuba.
At 345 feet above mean sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Contrary to popular belief, however, Florida is not entirely "flat." Some places, such as
Clearwater, feature vistas that rise 50 to 100 feet above the water. Much of the interior of Florida, typically 25 miles or more away from the coastline, features rolling hills with elevations ranging from 100 to 250 feet in many locations. Lake County holds the highest point of peninsular Florida, Sugarloaf Mountain, at 312 feet .
Areas under control by the
National Park Service include:
- Big Cypress National Preserve, near Lake Okeechobee
- Biscayne National Park, near Key Biscayne
- Canaveral National Seashore, near Titusville
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, in St. Augustine
- De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton
- WWPR-AM [i] ...
- Dry Tortugas National Park, at Key West
- Everglades National Park
- Fort Caroline National Memorial, at Jacksonville
- Fort Matanzas National Monument, in St. Augustine
- Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Gulf Breeze
- Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, in Jacksonville
See also List of Florida state parksBoundaries
The state line begins in the
Atlantic Ocean, traveling west, south, and north up the thalweg of the Saint Mary's River. At the origin of that river, it then follows a straight line nearly due west and slightly north, to the point where the confluence of the Flint River and the
Chattahoochee River used to form Florida's
Apalachicola River. The border with Georgia continues north through the lake for a short distance up the former thalweg of the Chattahoochee, then with Alabama runs due west along
latitude 31°N to the Perdido River, then south along its thalweg to the Gulf via Perdido Bay. If you were to walk one mile of Florida beach every day, it would take you longer than two-and-a-half years to get around the whole state.
Climate
The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by its proximity to water. Most of the state has a humid subtropical climate, with the
Florida Keys bordering on a true tropical climate. Cold fronts can occasionally bring high winds and cool to cold temperatures to the entire state during late fall and winter. One such front swept through the peninsula on November 25 1996, bringing cold temperatures and winds up to 95 miles per hour , knocking out power to thousands and damaging mobile homes. However, Florida averages 300 days of full sunshine a year. The seasons in Florida are actually determined more by precipitation than by temperature with mild to cool, relatively dry
winters and
autumns and hot, wet springs and summers . The
Gulf Stream has a moderating effect on the climate, and although much of Florida commonly sees a high summer temperature over 90 degrees Fahrenheit , the mercury seldom exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit . The hottest temperature ever recorded in the state was 109 °F , set on June 29 1931 in
Monticello. The coldest was –2 °F , on February 13 1899, just 25 miles away, in
Tallahassee. Mean high temperatures for late July are primarily in the low 90s Fahrenheit . Mean low temperatures for late January range from the low 40s Fahrenheit in northern Florida to the mid-50s in southern Florida.
The Florida Keys, being surrounded by water, generally have a more tropical climate, with lesser variability in temperatures. At
Key West, temperatures rarely exceed 90 °F in the summer or fall below 60 °F in the winter.
Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State," but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state.
Central Florida is known as the
lightning capital of the United States, as it experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. Florida has the highest average precipitation of any state, in large part because afternoon
thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. A fair day may be interrupted with a storm, only to return to regular, gorgeous sunshine. These thunderstorms, caused by collisions between airflow from the
Gulf of Mexico and airflow from the
Atlantic Ocean, pop up in the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and sometimes
tornadoes. Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per square mile, but these tornadoes do not typically reach the intensity of those in the
Midwest and
Great Plains.
Hail often accompanies the severest thunderstorms.
Snow is a rare occurrence in Florida. During the Great Blizzard of 1899, Florida experienced
blizzard conditions for possibly the first time since explorers had arrived. During that time, the Tampa Bay Area had "gulf-effect" snow, similar to
lake-effect snow. The Great Blizzard of 1899 is the only time the temperature in the state is known to have fallen below 0 degrees Fahrenheit . The most widespread snowfall in Florida history happened in February 1978, when snow fell over much of the state in different times of the month, as far south as
Homestead. Snow
flurries fell on
Miami Beach for the only time in recorded history. 1982's "
Cold Sunday," which saw freezing conditions throughout much of the country, ruined that year's orange crops. In 1989, a severe hard freeze created lots of ice and also caused minor flurries in sections of the state and resulted in rolling blackouts from power failures caused by massive demands on the power grid for heating. A hard freeze in 2003 brought "ocean-effect" snow flurries to the Atlantic coast as far south as
Cape Canaveral. .
The 1993 Superstorm brought blizzard conditions to the panhandle, while heavy rain and tornadoes beset the peninsula. The storm is believed to have been similar in composition to a
hurricane, and even brought
storm surges of six feet or more to regions of the Gulf coast.
Although some storms have formed out of season,
hurricanes pose a threat during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. Florida saw a slew of destruction in 2004, when it was hit by a record four hurricanes. Hurricanes
Charley ,
Frances ,
Ivan , and
Jeanne cumulatively cost the state's economy US$42 billion. In 2005,
Hurricane Dennis became the fifth storm to strike Florida within eleven months. Later,
Hurricane Katrina passed through
South Florida and
Hurricane Rita swept through the
Florida Keys.
Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida in the early morning of October 24 as a Category 3 hurricane, with the storm's eye hitting near Cape Romano, just south of
Marco Island, according to
National Hurricane Center.
Florida was the site of the second costliest weather disaster in U.S. history,
Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$25 billion in damage when it struck on August 24, 1992. In a long list of other infamous hurricane strikes are the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, the
Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, the
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935,
Hurricane Donna in 1960, and
Hurricane Opal in 1995.
Environmental issues
Florida is the fifth-largest producer of greenhouse gases among the 50 U.S. states. This may coincide with the fact that Florida is the fourth most populous state in the United States. Climatologists and scientists debate whether
global warming is to blame for an increase in the number of strong hurricanes. The scientists Peter Webster and Judith Curry of the
Georgia Institute of Technology published research in 2005 showing an increase in global hurricane intensity, with a doubling of the number of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes since 1970. That increase coincides with a rise of nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit in ocean surface temperatures. They argue that there is a connection, while Florida's state climatologist, James O'Brien, argues the increase in stronger storms is merely part of a natural cycle.
Other than fiercer hurricanes, global warming is predicted to have a number of destructive effects on Florida:
- In fact, scientists have already observed changes in Florida consistent with the early effects of global warming: retreating and eroding shorelines, dying coral reefs, saltwater intrusion into inland freshwater aquifers, an upswing in forest fires, and warmer air and sea-surface temperatures.
The greatest threat from global warming is a rise in
sea levels. Much of Florida, being only a few feet above sea level now, would be underwater if the sea level rose dramatically due to the continued melting of
glaciers, parts of the
Antarctic ice shelf, or
Greenland's cover of ice. Even a rise of less than a foot could mean "seawater will advance inland as much as 400 feet in low-lying areas, flooding shoreline homes and hotels, limiting future development, and eroding the state's beloved beaches."
History
Archaeological finds indicate that Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous people, the largest known were the Ais, the
Apalachee, the
Calusa, the
Timucua and the Tocobago tribes.
Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish
conquistador, named Florida in honor of his "discovery" of the land on April 2 1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish term for the Easter season. From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida." .
Over the following century, both the Spanish and
French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Spanish
Pensacola was established by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano as the first European settlement in the continental United States, but it had become abandoned by 1561 and would not be reinhabited until the 1690s. French
Huguenots founded
Fort Caroline in modern-day
Jacksonville in 1564, but this fort was conquered by forces from the new Spanish colony of St. Augustine the following year. After Huguenot leader Jean Ribault had learned of the new Spanish threat, he launched an expedition to sack the Spanish settlement; en route, however, severe storms at sea waylaid the expedition, which consisted of most of the colony's men, allowing St. Augustine founder
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés time to march his men over land and conquer Fort Caroline. Most of the Huguenots were slaughtered, and Menéndez de Avilés marched south and captured the survivors of the wrecked French fleet, ordering all but a few
Catholics executed beside a river subsequently called
Matanzas . St. Augustine came to serve as the capitals of the British and Spanish colonies of
East and
West Florida, respectively. The Spanish never had a firm hold on Florida, and maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the local tribes, briefly with
Jesuits and later with
Franciscan friars. The local leaders demonstrated their loyalty to the Spanish by converting to Roman Catholicism and welcoming the Franciscan priests into their villages.
The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of
English colonies to the north and
French colonies to the west. The English weakened Spanish power in the area by supplying their
Creek Indian allies with firearms and urging them to raid the
Timucuan and
Apalachee client-tribes of the Spanish. The English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times, while the citizens hid behind the walls of the
Castillo de San Marcos. The Spanish, meanwhile, encouraged slaves to flee the English-held Carolinas and come to Florida, where they were converted to Roman Catholicism and given freedom. They settled in a buffer community north of St. Augustine, called Gracie Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first completely black settlement in what would become the United States. Great Britain gained control of Florida diplomatically in 1763 through the Peace of Paris . Britain tried to develop Florida through the importation of immigrants for labor, including some from
Minorca and
Greece, but this project ultimately failed. Spain regained Florida after Britain's defeat by the American colonies and the Treaty of Paris, in 1783. Finally, in 1819, by terms of the
Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the American renounciation of any claims on
Texas. On March 3 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. On January 10 1861, before the formal outbreak of the
Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union; ten days later, the state became a founding member of the
Confederate States of America. The war ended in 1865. On June 25, 1868, Florida's
congressionalrepresentation was restored.
Until the mid-twentieth century, Florida was the least populous Southern state; however, the local climate, tempered by the growing availability of
air conditioning, made the state a haven, and migration from the
Rust Belt and the Northeast sharply increased the population. Economic prosperity combined with Florida's sudden elevation in profile led to the
Florida land boom of the 1920s, which brought a brief period of intense land development before the
Great Depression brought it all to a halt. Florida's economy would not fully recover until
WWII. Today, Florida is the most populous state in the South besides
Texas, and the fourth most populous in the United States.
Government and law
Presidential elections results
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|
| 2004 | 52.10% 3,964,522 | 47.09% 3,583,544 |
| 2000 | 48.85% 2,912,790 | 48.84% 2,912,253 |
| 1996 | 42.32% 2,244,536 | 48.02% 2,546,870 |
| 1992 | 40.89% 2,173,310 | 39.00% 2,072,698 |
| 1988 | 60.87% 2,618,885 | 38.51% 1,656,701 |
| 1984 | 65.32% 2,730,350 | 34.66% 1,448,816 |
| 1980 | 55.52% 2,046,951 | 38.50% 1,419,475 |
| 1976 | 46.64% 1,469,531 | 51.93% 1,636,000 |
| 1972 | 71.91% 1,857,759 | 27.80% 718,117 |
| 1968 | 40.53% 886,804 | 30.93% 676,794 |
| 1964 | 48.85% 905,941 | 51.15% 948,540 |
| 1960 | 51.51% 795,476 | 48.49% 748,700 |
The basic structure, duties, function, and operations of the government of the State of Florida are defined and established by the
Florida Constitution, which establishes the basic law of the state and guarantees various rights and freedoms of the people. The state government consists of three separate branches: judicial, executive, and legislative. The
legislature enacts bills, which, if signed by the governor, become
Florida Statutes.
The Florida Legislature is comprised of the Florida Senate, which has 40 members, and the Florida House of Representatives, which has 120 members. The current Governor of Florida is
Republican Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. President
George W. Bush and son of former U.S. President
George H. W. Bush. The
Florida Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Justices.
Florida was traditionally a
Democratic state; at one time, of all Floridians were registered Democrats. In the last decades of the twentieth century, the realignment of the "Solid South" has led many conservative Democrats of Florida to vote with the Republican Party. This tendency, combined with explosive population growth, which has brought many
Republicans into the state, has given Florida a Republican edge in practice, though registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans. As a result, Republicans control the governorship and most other statewide elective offices: both houses of the state legislature, 18 of the state's 25 seats in the
House of Representatives, and one of the state's two
Senate seats. The disputed 2000 Presidential election in Florida was extremely close. Because of the state's population and number of electoral votes, political analysts consider it to be a key
swing state in
presidential elections. The Tampa area, once a major center of Democratic
union support, is now almost evenly split between registered Republicans and Democrats, making it part of the important
I-4 Corridor swing region.
Economy
The gross state product of Florida in 2005 was $596 billion. Personal income was $30,098 per capita, ranking 26
th in the nation.
Florida's economy relies heavily on tourism. About 60 million visitors visit the state every year. Warm weather and hundreds of miles of beach attract vacationers from around the world. The
Walt Disney World Resort, a mega-resort consisting of four
theme parks, more than twenty hotels, water parks, shopping centers, and other attractions, is an important tourist attraction located in
Lake Buena Vista. Together, Walt Disney World, and other theme park resorts such as
Universal Orlando Resort and
SeaWorld, are an important driver of the Central Florida economy.
Other major industries include
citrus fruit and juice production, banking, and
phosphate mining within the
Bone Valley region. With the arrival of the space program at
Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s, Florida has developed a sizeable aerospace industry. The state did not have a state minimum wage law until November 2, 2004, when voters passed a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and mandating that it be adjusted for inflation every six months.
