FLORIDA

constituent state of the United States of America. Admitted as the 27th state in 1845, it has an area of 58,664 square miles (151,939 square kilometres). The capital is Tallahassee, located in the northwestern panhandle. The geographic location of Florida has been the key factor in a long and colourful development, and it helps explain the striking contemporary character of the state. The greater part of Florida lies on a peninsula that protrudes southeastward from the North American continent, separating the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from those of the Gulf of Mexico and pointing toward Cuba and the Caribbean Sea beyond. Florida shares a border with only two states, Georgia and Alabama, both to the north. The nearest foreign territory is the Bahamian island of Bimini, some 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the east of the state's tip. With the exception of Hawaii, Florida is the southernmost state of the United States, its northernmost point lying 100 miles farther south than California's southern border. The Florida Keys, a crescent of islands that forms the state's southernmost portion, lie within 1,700 miles of the equator. The state lies close to both the geographic and the population centres of the landmass of the Western Hemisphere, and its position not only commands one entrance to the Gulf of Mexico but also lies along a strategic crossroads between North and South America and historic routes to the European and Mediterranean worlds. Florida played a prominent role in the struggles of the European powers to control the New World, and it is fitting that St. Augustine, founded in 1565 on its northeastern coast, is the oldest European settlement within what were to become the boundaries of the continental United States. Although agriculture and manufacturing continue to be important in Florida, the climate and scenery of the Sunshine State have attracted enormous numbers of visitors, and tourism is now a mainstay of a well-diversified economy. The Deep South. constituent state of the United States of America, the southeasternmost state of the United States, comprising a peninsula and adjoining mainland areas protruding southeastward from the North American continent. It is bounded on the north by Alabama and Georgia; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the Straits of Florida; and on the west by the Gulf of Mexico. The capital is Tallahassee. Indian groups entered Florida from the north as early as 10,000 years ago. Florida was explored by Juan Ponce de Len in about 1513. In 1565, after wiping out a settlement of French Huguenots, the Spaniards founded St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. By 1750 virtually all of the descendants of the earliest known inhabitants had been wiped out. Florida became a British possession in 1763 after the British victory in the French and Indian Wars. The area reverted to Spanish control after the American Revolution (1783) but was used by the British as a base of operations against the United States during the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson's capture of Pensacola during that war led to the cession of Florida to the United States in 1819. A war with the Seminole Indians followed (183542) during which most Seminoles were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. Florida became a state in 1845. Florida is a low-lying plain, mostly less than 100 feet (30 m) above sea level, with its highest point a mere 345 feet (105 m) in elevation. Sedimentary deposits of sand and limestone cover most of the state, with areas of peat and muck marking where freshwater bodies once stood. Almost two-thirds of the state is covered by trees, and there are more than 1,700 streams and some 30,000 lakes. The contemporary topography has been largely molded by running water, waves, ocean currents, winds, changes in sea level, and the wearing away of limestone rocks by solution. The rich and distinctive tropical and subtropical environment is inhabited by a huge and varied wildlife population. Climatically, Florida is divided into tropical and subtropical zones. Average annual temperatures show little variation, ranging from 68 F (20 C) in the north to 77 F (25 C) in the south. Rainfall is heaviest in summer. The average annual rainfall ranges from 40 inches (1,000 mm) around Key West to 62 inches (1,575 mm) in West Palm Beach. On the average, hurricanes occur about once a year, usually in September. Florida is one of the fastest-growing states in the United States. Its 197085 growth rate was almost four times the national average. When it became a state, Florida was sparsely populated and had equal numbers of whites and blacks; at the end of the 19th century, the incidence of the blacks began a steady decline. In the late 1980s it was less than 15 percent. Immigrants from Cuba have been significant throughout the 20th century. Sizable Jewish communities have also developed, as have recent communities of Haitian refugees. The death rate is high mainly because of the large number of older people who have retired there. Florida's farmland covers less than two-fifths of the state, and about one-third of this total is in either pasture or timber. Yet on this land Florida produces about 75 percent of the nation's citrus fruits, and the state is second only to California in vegetable production. It also is important in cattle rearing. Phosphate is the state's main mineral; titanium and zircon are also found, and there is some petroleum. Tourism is the leading industry. The electronics industry is the leading manufacturing activity. The aerospace industry, centred on the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral (Kennedy), is a further buttress to the economy, employing many thousands of people. Florida has three international airports and eight major deepwater ports and is well-served by highways and railways. It maintains more than 800 parks and recreation areas, while counties and municipalities support another 1,300. The Everglades National Park occupies some 1,400,500 acres (567,000 hectares). Sporting events, particularly the Orange Bowl and Gator Bowl football games, are especially popular. Walt Disney World and the accompanying Epcot Center (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; opened 1982) are huge tourist attractions. Sarasota is a centre for both visual and theatre arts. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art possesses an internationally famous fine-art collection, and the city also supports a circus museum and hall of fame. Area 58,664 sq mi (151,939 sq km). Pop. (1990) 12,937,926. city, central Camagey provincia, east-central Cuba. Lying just north of the Muoz River, Florida is a rail junction and manufacturing centre for the surrounding agricultural and pastoral lands. The principal agricultural products of the area are sugarcane and oranges. Cattle also are raised. Large sugar refineries are located on the outskirts of Florida, which is on the central highway and a major railroad. Pop. (1987 est.) 48,732. city, south-central Uruguay, on the Santa Luca Chico River. Founded in 1809, the city processes the wheat, corn (maize), oats, sugar beets, linseed, and other products of the agricultural hinterland. Lumber mills and factories manufacturing textiles, mosaics, and hosiery also are located in the city. The surrounding region is characterized by rolling hills. In addition to its agricultural activities, the area is noted for cattle and sheep ranching. Viticulture, dairying, and quarrying of granite, limestone, marble, and iron are also economically important. The city of Florida has a poultry-farming school. Florida is situated on the main highway and railroad linking Montevideo and Rivera, and it has an airport. Pop. (1985 prelim.) 26,200. Additional reading General information sources include The Florida Handbook (biennial); Del Marth and Martha J. Marth (eds.), The Florida Almanac, 198889, 7th ed. (1988); and Federal Writers' Project, Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State (1939, reprinted as The WPA Guide to Florida, 1984). Robert B. Marcus and Edward A. Fernald, Florida: A Geographical Approach (1975), is comprehensive. Edward A. Fernald and Elizabeth D. Purdum (eds.), Atlas of Florida, rev. ed. (1996); and DeLorme Publishing Company, Florida Atlas & Gazetteer, 4th ed. (1997), provide thorough surveys. Geographic and historical background are provided by Bertha E. Bloodworth and Alton C. Morris, Places in the Sun: The History and Romance of Florida Place-Names (1978). Studies of the state's environment include Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades: River of Grass, rev. ed. (1988), an account of one woman's fight to save the Everglades; and Nelson Manfred Blake, Land Into WaterWater Into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida (1980). The best general histories of the state are Charlton W. Tebeau, A History of Florida, rev. ed. (1980); and Gloria Jahoda, Florida (1976, reissued 1984). Edwin C. McReynolds, The Seminoles (1957, reprinted 1985), provides an excellent history of the Seminole Indians. Specific topics are discussed in Eugene Lyon, The Enterprise of Florida: Pedro Menndez de Avils and the Spanish Conquest of 15651568 (1976); J. Leitch Wright, Jr., Florida in the American Revolution (1975), a study of an often overlooked period; Virginia Bergman Peters, The Florida Wars (1979), on the attempts to remove the Seminole Indians from Florida; and Jerrell H. Shofner, Nor Is It Over Yet: Florida in the Era of Reconstructtion, 18631877 (1974). The Florida Historical Quarterly includes scholarly articles on both historical and recent topics. Robert H. Fuson The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica