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Portal:Florida

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The Florida Portal

The Sunshine State
The Sunshine State
Florida
State of Florida
Map of the United States with Florida highlighted
Map of the United States with Florida highlighted

Florida (/ˈflɒrɪdə/ FLORR-ih-də; Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ) is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee.

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first documented European to make landfall in the region and named it La Florida (Spanish for "land of flowers"; [la floˈɾiða]), giving the territory its present name. Spain subsequently incorporated Florida into the Spanish Empire in the early 16th century. In 1565, it founded St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States. The region was frequently coveted and attacked by Great Britain throughout the 18th century. Britain briefly gained control of Florida in 1763, but Spain recovered it in 1783 following the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Florida remained under Spanish rule until it was ceded to the United States in 1821, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Spanish sovereignty in Texas and the resolution of the border dispute along the Sabine River. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868.

Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy, with a gross state product (GSP) of $1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the fifteenth-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism, hospitality, agriculture, real estate, and transportation. Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida is a popular destination for retirees, seasonal vacationers, and both domestic and international migrants. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture, identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in African, European, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of the most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Florida has been known for being a battleground state in American presidential elections, although it has turned increasingly Republican in recent years. (Full article...)

Clearwater Beach in June 2022

Clearwater is a city in and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa and north of St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 117,292. It is the smallest of the three principal cities in the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area, most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay area.

Clearwater Beach is part of the city of Clearwater, but is separated from it by the Intracoastal Waterway. Cleveland Street is one of the city's historic avenues, and the city includes BayCare Ballpark and Coachman Park. (Full article...)

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I am going to St. Petersburg, Florida, tomorrow. Let the worthy citizens of Chicago get their liquor the best they can. I'm sick of the job-it's a thankless one and full of grief. I've been spending the best years of my life as a public benefactor.
Al Capone

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The following are images from various Florida-related articles on Wikipedia.

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Hurston in 1946

Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo and Caribbean Vodou. The most popular of her four novels is Their Eyes Were Watching God, published in 1937. She also wrote more than 50 short stories, plays, an autobiography, ethnographies, and many essays. Some of her work, namely Tell My Horse (1937), explored ethnomusicological methods of study long before there were formal boundaries for the discipline, especially not boundaries that included the respectful study of communities of color. Hurston's unique background and exceptional approach to anthropology laid key foundations for the growth of ethnography, literature, and Africana Studies.

Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama, and moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida, in 1894. She later used Eatonville as the setting for many of her stories. In her early career, Hurston conducted anthropological and ethnographic research as a scholar at Barnard College and Columbia University. She had an interest in African-American and Caribbean folklore, and how these contributed to the community's identity. (Full article...)

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Current events

November 26, 2025 – South Africa–United States relations, 2026 G20 Doral summit, South African farm attacks
U.S. president Donald Trump announces that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit in Doral, Florida, and that U.S. payments and subsidies to the country will cease, citing South Africa's refusal to transfer G20 hosting responsibilities to a U.S. embassy representative at the 2025 Johannesburg summit and criticizing its treatment of Afrikaners, among other reasons. (AP via Arab News)
November 10, 2025 – 2025 Atlantic hurricane season
Two people are killed when a Beechcraft King Air plane carrying Hurricane Melissa relief supplies for Jamaica crashes into a pond in Coral Springs, Florida, United States. (CNN) (The Palm Beach Post)
October 31, 2025 –
Police in Guyana arrest opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed following an indictment by a federal grand jury in Florida, United States, and an extradition request by American authorities, who accuse him of several financial crimes. (AP)

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The Seven Mile Bridge, as seen from the Ohio Keys
The Seven Mile Bridge, as seen from the Ohio Keys
Credit: Averette

The Seven Mile Bridge, in the Florida Keys, runs over a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait, connecting Knight's Key (the location of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.

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1910 Cuba hurricane1928 Okeechobee hurricane2006 Gator Bowl2012 Budweiser ShootoutAmerican white ibisAndrew SleddBiscayne National ParkDerek JeterDraining and development of the EvergladesErnest HemingwayEverglades National ParkFalcon's FuryGeography and ecology of the EvergladesGeorge Floyd (American football)Gregor MacGregorGuy BradleyHogwarts Express (Universal Orlando Resort)Hurricane AndrewHurricane DennisIndigenous people of the Everglades regionIron GwaziJohn F. BoltMarjory Stoneman DouglasRosewood massacreSci-Fi Dine-In Theater RestaurantSheiKraSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterSt. Johns RiverTNA Turning Point (2008)USS Massachusetts (BB-2)Walt Disney World Railroad

List of Daytona 500 winnersList of Florida hurricanesList of Florida hurricanes (1900–1949)List of Florida hurricanes (1950–1974)List of Florida hurricanes (1975–1999)List of Florida hurricanes (pre-1900)List of Tampa Bay Rays seasonsList of University of Central Florida alumniList of birds of FloridaList of counties in FloridaList of governors of FloridaList of invasive species in the EvergladesList of mammals of FloridaList of municipalities in FloridaSnow in FloridaUnited States presidential elections in Florida

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1898 Georgia hurricane1928 Florida Gators football team1952 Groundhog Day tropical storm1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season1987 Gulf Coast tropical storm1987 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season1989 Florida's 18th congressional district special election1989 South Florida television affiliation switch1998 Pepsi 4002003 Budweiser Shootout2005 TNA Super X Cup Tournament2006 Daytona 5002006 Ford 4002008 TNA World X Cup Tournament2009 Budweiser Shootout2009 Ford 4002010 Cafés do Brasil Indy 3002010 Daytona 5002010 Ford 4002011 Budweiser Shootout2011 Daytona 5002011 Gatorade Duels2012 Daytona 5002012 Gatorade Duels2016 24 Hours of Daytona2017 24 Hours of Daytona2018 24 Hours of Daytona2021 College Football Playoff National Championship2022 Gasparilla BowlAlbert A. MurphreeAndy HansenApalachee massacreApollo 1Ashlyn HarrisBattle of Flint RiverBob TurleyBomisBound for Glory (2005)Brad Miller (baseball)Buccaneers–Packers rivalryBurger KingBurger King franchisesBurger King legal issuesCarlos (Calusa)Caroline Street (Key West)Catie BallChad MottolaCheetah Hunt

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Sources

  1. ^ "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.
  2. ^ "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.
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