Federated state of the southern USA (139,657 km 2 with 18,251,243 inhabitants in 2007); capital Tallahassee. It includes the peninsula of the same name which extends between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, ends in the south with the Florida Keys series, in the north with a narrow continental strip bordering the Alabama and the Georgia. A very flat country, it has numerous springs and lakes (about 30,000, connected by navigable canals), especially in the center of the peninsula (Lake Region), while a vast depressed and marshy area extends in the southern sector (The Everglades) for almost 10,000 km 2; at the northern edge of it there is the great lake Okeechobee. The Atlantic coast (Cape Canaveral) is low, bordered by lagoons and ponds, and not very port, while the western one has numerous inlets. Main rivers are the St. Johns, a tributary of the Atlantic, and the Suwannee, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The climate is subtropical in the northern and central areas, tropical in the southern one. The per capita income is below average despite the considerable resources: agriculture is a widely represented sector (vegetables and fruit, especially citrus fruits); developed cattle and pig breeding.
According to abbreviationfinder, the Florida has three national parks (Everglades, Biscayne Bay and Dry Tortugas), 148 state parks, 33 state forests, and numerous other locations and protected areas.
It was discovered by Juan Ponce de León, probably on Palm Sunday (Pascua florida; hence its name) of 1513; but the real conqueror was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who founded Sant’Agostino (1565). The country it was later the field of a long series of guerrillas and robberies between the English settlers of the North and the Spaniards. After the Seven Years’ War (1763), Spanish and French settlements along the Gulf of Mexico, east of Mississippi, passed under the English. The Treaty of Paris (1783), who returned them to Spain, did not destroy the English influence and, after the American occupation (1810-13), the Spanish powerlessness in defending the borders from the incursions of the Indians Creek in Georgia and Alabama it led to a border war that A. Jackson ended with the annexation of the Florida to the USA (1819); in 1821 the territory was established and in 1845 the state of Florida. In 1861 the Florida joined the Confederate Congress, and took part in the civil war. In 1868, with a new statute, he was able to resume his place in the Union.
Current of the Florida. A warm sea current that transfers masses of water from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic Ocean. It is among those that combine to form the great Gulf Stream of the Atlantic Ocean.
Keys Acordon of islands (about 240 km), forming a large festoon southwest of the peninsula of the Florida and limiting the Strait of Florida to the northwest. They emerge from a sea bottom (3-5 m deep) which allowed the construction, completed in 1938, of a motorway (mostly on bridges or dams) along their cordon; it ends in Key West.
Strait of the Florida Marine channel between the Florida to the north, the island of Cuba to the S, and the archipelago of the Bahama to east It connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Exploration. – Although Florida was probably known to the Spanish occupiers of the West Indies even before 1513, the discovery of the peninsula is attributed to Juan Ponce de León who, that year left Haiti to look for the island of Bimini, described by the islanders delle Lucaie, and the “fountain of youth” that was to be found there, landed at the eastern shore of the new land, probably on Easter day of flowers: hence the name of Florida. In 1521 the Ponce de León returned there, apparently disembarking in the bay of Tampa, but was driven back to the ships by the fierce resistance of the natives. The expedition of Panfilo de Narváez, who landed in the same area with a large apparatus of forces in 1528, and that of Hernando de Soto who interned from here towards the Mississippi (1539-42) had no better success. A fort built in Pensacola by Velasco in 1559 was soon abandoned; Fort Carolina lasted a little longer, founded on the Atlantic shore at the root of the peninsula by French Huguenot refugees in 1562. It destroyed this colony in 1565 Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who founded fifty km. further south S. Agostino and was the real occupier of the peninsula for Spain. The occupation, however, and the exploration of the interior, difficult for swamps, rivers, lakes and forests, was not completed until the century. XIX after the annexation of the peninsula to the United States.
Morphology and geology. – From the altimetric point of view, Florida is essentially flat: in the north-western section some hills are just over 100 meters high; overall, about half of the surface is between 0 and 30 meters. Geologically, the lands that emerge belong to the most recent eras, the Tertiary and the Quaternary. They rest on an older limestone base, covered with sandstones, clays and sands, in which a very dense karst hydrographic network is developed. In connection with this phenomenon there are numerous springs and lakes, scattered throughout the region, but mainly in the center of the peninsula, which is precisely called “the Lake region”, while a vast marshy mass extends in the southern part (the Everglades), covering an area of 10,400 sq km. Many of these lakes occupy the bottom of sinkholes, very numerous throughout the state. The Atlantic coast is bordered, for almost its entire length, by sand dunes, which close lagoons and ponds towards the interior. The Atlantic coastal arc continues into the island arc, which goes by the name of Florida Keys.
Climate and hydrography. – Florida’s climate is essentially subtropical and tropical, with average annual temperatures ranging between 20 ° and 25 ° (Jacksonville 20 °; Tallahassee 19 °, 5; Tampa 21 °; Miami 24 °; Key West 25 °). The rains are very abundant (Jacksonville 1330 mm. Per year with 126 rainy days; Pensacola 1450 mm. And 115 rainy days; Tampa 1320 mm. And 121 rainy days; Miami 1590 mm. And 74 rainy days; Key West 960 mm. and 110 rainy days). All months of the year have rainfall, but these fall preferably in the summer. Snow falls in the northern section and at intervals of years. Cyclones and whirlwinds are not uncommon and often disastrous (remember the one in Miami in September 1926). The longest river, entirely within the state borders, is the St. Johns, about 400 kilometers long.
Education. – According to the 1920 census, 9.6% of the population over the age of 10 could neither read nor write; the white element had the minimum value of 3.1%; the black one the maximum with 21.5%. In Florida, as in the other states of the SE., Teaching to Whites is kept distinct from that given to Negroes. Higher education is taught at the University of Florida in Gainesville with approximately 2300 students; at the State College for Women in Tallahassee; in Rollins College (325 alumni) in Winter Park; at Stetson University in Dehand, etc. For the Negroes there is a State Agricultural and Mechanical College in Tallahassee. All higher education was rearranged on its current foundations in 1905.
Economic conditions. – From an economic point of view, Florida, according to the 1920 census, out of a population of 751,787 individuals aged 10 and over, had 385,312 individuals employed in various occupations. Of these, 32.2% are concerned with agriculture (in 1910, 43.4%), which (although the 1920 census reported a significant increase compared to that of 1910, in the number of people employed in activities of an essentially urban planning) still remains the fundamental activity of Florida. According to data from 1925, there are 59,217 farms in Florida which occupy 16.7% of the total area of the state for a value of 513.9 million dollars.
Corn is grown on an average of 250,000 hectares with a production of around 300 million liters, for the period 1926-29. The counties with the largest productions are the northern ones, such as Jackson, Gadsden, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee, Alachua, etc. The potato production in the northeast section is remarkable. and in the northern counties. Florida is also among the tobacco producing countries, concentrated almost entirely in Gadsden County, cotton (northern counties) and sugar cane. Given the climatic conditions, Florida is a large producer of tropical fruit, citrus fruits, horticultural products, which are widely sold to the northern states of the Confederation. Among the main citrus products we will mention oranges, for which Florida currently occupies the 2nd place in the United States, coming after California. The cultivation of oranges took off around 1875 and has continuously increased, rising from 273,000 boxes in 1899 to 14,500,000 in 1930. The counties with the greatest production are those in the center. The production of grapefruits, for which Florida holds the record: from 12,000 crates in 1899, production increased to 12 million in 1930, a specialty of central and southern counties. The production of pineapples is also remarkable, mainly in the southern counties bordering the Atlantic.
The zootechnical patrimony of the farms in 1930 presented the following values: 24,000 horses; mules 41,000; cattle 480,000; sheep 50,000; pigs 490,000. There is a general decrease in these values, on the corresponding ones of 1900.
From an industrial point of view, Florida is far from presenting the development of many other states of the Confederation. In 1927 there were 1,851 factories with 61,219 workers. The value of production reached $ 219 million on the same date. The main industries are those connected with forestry and agriculture, such as sawmills, tobacco factories, plants for the production of turpentine, etc. Tampa, Pensacola, Jacksonville and Key West are major industrial centers.
Communications. – Alongside the navigable rivers and lakes, there is a remarkable railroad network in Florida that extends (1928) for 9300 km. The most important companies, which carry out traffic in the state, are the Atlantic Coast Line and the Florida East Coast Railway: the great Atlantic line coming from New York ends in Key West. A very fast connection with the island of Cuba has been made possible by means of ferry – boats. Motoring is highly developed (350,000 cars in 1929, ie one car for each family on average). Miami has recently become one of the aviator ports of international importance.
Constitution and administrative division. – The present constitution of Florida dates from 1886. The assembly consists of a 38-member Senate and a 95-member House; sessions take place every two years, and last no more than 60 days. Florida sends 2 senators and 4 representatives to the federal Congress. The capital is Tallahassee. Florida is popularly called the “State of the Everglades”, and also the “Peninsular State” or “Land of Flowers”. The state flower is the orange one. The state seal bears the motto In God We Trust.
According to countryaah, Florida has the following main cities:
Tallahassee
Tallahassee City of the USA (171,922 residents In 2008), capital of the State of Florida. Shipbuilding and tobacco industries. The first settlement dates back to 1818.
