Florida - Overview

A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It was admitted as the 27th state in 1845. The peninsula was explored by Juan Ponce de León in 1513 and became the center of a Spanish settlement that included the southeast part of the present-day United States. Spain finally ceded the area in 1819. Tallahassee is the capital and Jacksonville the largest city. Population: 17,300,000.

Florida is a southern state in the United States. It is known as the Sunshine State. "Florida" is a Spanish adjective which means "flowery". It was discovered by Spanish explorers during the Easter season, which is called Pascua Florida in Spanish. The U.S. Postal abbreviation is FL.

The southeasternmost state of the contiguous United States, bordered by Alabama and Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, and the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama to the west. Its capital is Tallahassee, and its largest city is Jacksonville. Home of Walt Disney World, an amusement park near Orlando, and many other theme parks. (See Walt Disney.) Home of the Kennedy Space Center, launch site for many U.S. space missions.

St. Augustine, located on the coast of Northern Florida, is the oldest city in the United States, settled in the sixteenth century by Spain.One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

About Florida

Abbreviation: FL

Capital City: Tallahassee

Date Of Statehood: Mar 3, 1845

State #: 27

Population: 15,982,378

Area: 65758 sq.mi. Land 53997 sq. mi. Water 11761 sq.mi.

Agriculture: Citrus, vegetables, nursery stock, cattle, sugarcane, dairy products.

Industry: Tourism, electric equipment, food processing, printing and publishing,
transportation equipment, machinery.

Governor: John Ellis Bush (R)

Representatives: Jeff Miller, Allen Boyd, Corrine Brown, Ander Crenshaw, Ginny Brown-Waite, Cliff Stearns, John Mica, Ric Keller, Michael Bilirakis, C.W. Young, Jim Davis, Adam Putnam, Katherine Harris, Goss Porter, Dave Weldon, Mark Foley, Kendrick Meek, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Robert Wexler, Peter Deutsch, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, E. Shaw, Alcee Hastings, Tom Feeney, Mario Diaz-Balart.

Senators: Bob Graham (D), Bill Nelson (D)

Where The Name Comes From: Named on Easter, 1513 by Ponce de Leon for Pascua Florida, meaning "Flowery Easter".

State Bird: Mockingbird

State Flower: Orange Blossom

About The Flag: Adopted in 1899, on a white field emblazoned with a red X and the state seal, Florida's flag represents the land of sunshine, flowers, palm trees, rivers and lakes. The seal features a brilliant sun, a cabbage palmetto tree, a steamboat sailing and a Native American Seminole woman scattering flowers.

State Motto: In God We Trust

State Nickname: Sunshine State

State Song: Swanee River