state, United States
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- Florida - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Florida - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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Also known as: Sunshine State
Written by
Robert H. Fuson,
Robert J. Norrell•All
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Florida, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted as the 27th state in 1845. Florida is the most populous of the southeastern states and the second most populous Southern state after Texas. The capital is Tallahassee, located in the northwestern panhandle.
Facts & Stats
See article: flag of Florida
Seal of Florida
Florida's state bird is the mockingbird.
The orange blossom is the state flower of Florida.
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- Capital:
- Tallahassee
- Population:
- (2020) 21,538,187; (2023 est.) 22,610,726
- Governor:
- Ron DeSantis (Republican)
- Date Of Admission:
- March 3, 1845
- U.S. Senators:
- Marco Rubio (Republican)
- Rick Scott (Republican)
Geographic location has been the key factor in Florida’s 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 land border with only two other states, both along its northern boundary: Georgia (east) and Alabama (west). The nearest foreign territory is the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, some 50 miles (80 km) to the east of the state’s southern tip. Florida is the southernmost of the 48 conterminous United States, its northernmost point lying about 100 miles (160 km) farther south than California’s southern border. The Florida Keys, a crescent of islands that forms the state’s southernmost portion, extend to within about 75 miles (120 km) of the Tropic of Cancer. Florida’s marine shoreline totals more than 8,400 miles (13,500 km), including some 5,100 miles (8,200 km) along the gulf; among U.S. states, only Alaska has a longer coastline.
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The state lies close to both the geographic and population centres of the Western Hemisphere, in a position that not only commands one entrance to the Gulf of Mexico but also overlooks a strategic crossroads between North and South America and historic routes to the European and Mediterranean worlds. The Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León landed there in 1513, named the territory La Florida (meaning “The Flower” in Spanish), and claimed it for Spain. Florida played a prominent role in the historic struggles of European powers to control the Americas and the Caribbean. St. Augustine, founded in 1565 on Florida’s northeastern coast, is the oldest European settlement within what were to become the boundaries of the continental United States.
The climate and scenery of the “Sunshine State” have long attracted enormous numbers of visitors. Tourism has surpassed agriculture and manufacturing as the main component of Florida’s economy, and the prospect of employment in the state’s rapidly growing service sector has simultaneously drawn many immigrants, mostly from Latin America. Consequently, Florida has regularly ranked among the states with the fastest-growing immigrant population. Area 65,757 square miles (170,311 square km). Population (2020) 21,538,187; (2023 est.) 22,610,726.
Land
Relief
Florida is a geologically young, low-lying plain, mostly less than 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level. The highest point is near the Alabama border in Walton county, a mere 345 feet (105 metres) above sea level. Sedimentary deposits of sand and limestone cover most of the state, with areas of peat and muck marking locations where freshwater bodies once stood. 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. These forces have produced enough variation in the state’s surface to permit classification into seven basic physiographic regions: the coastal lowlands, the Lake Okeechobee–Everglades basin, the Kissimmee lowlands, the Marianna lowlands, the central highlands, the Tallahassee hills, and the western highlands, though these divisions are scarcely apparent to the naked eye.
The coastal lowlands occupy roughly three-fourths of the surface and vary in width from about 10 to 100 miles (16 to 160 km). Generally, the region is exceedingly flat and is often less than 25 feet (8 metres) above sea level. Much of the area is swampy, and in the eastern part of the state numerous former beach ridges parallel one another. Offshore barrier bars (beaches) rim much of the region and account for most of Florida’s finest beaches.
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The Lake Okeechobee–Everglades basin and the Kissimmee lowlands are actually subdivisions of the coastal lowlands, but their uniqueness justifies separate designations. The former is 150 miles (240 km) long and 50 miles (80 km) wide and is technically a shallow, slow-moving river (the Everglades is often called a “river of grass”). The northern portion has been modified with canals, dikes, and pumping stations and is Florida’s principal zone of sugarcane production. The southern portion retains much of its pre-European flavour and is protected within the confines of Everglades National Park. The Kissimmee lowlands are about the size of the Lake Okeechobee–Everglades basin and include the broad valley of the Kissimmee River, the major source for water flowing southward to Lake Okeechobee. Much of this region is a flat grassland dominated by pastures and cattle ranches.
The Marianna lowlands constitute a small region in the northwestern panhandle, bounded on the east by the Apalachicola River and on the west by the Choctawhatchee River. The region is heavily eroded and has numerous sinkholes and caves.
The Marianna lowlands separate the Tallahassee hills, to the east, from the western highlands, which extend to the Alabama border on the west. Both of these regions are about the same size (40 by 100 miles [65 by 160 km]), and both are ancient upland plains that have been dissected by streams. Together, they form a beautiful undulating terrain that is the most important zone for the production of field crops in Florida.
The central highlands lie between the Suwannee River, on the eastern side of the Tallahassee hills, and the St. Johns River, which separates the highlands from the eastern coastal lowlands. The region extends southward from the Georgia border to the area of Arcadia and Sebring, a distance of some 400 miles (640 km); its width varies from 50 to 75 miles (80 to 120 km). The land is rolling and dotted with thousands of lakes, and the central and southern portions of the region contain most of Florida’s citrus acreage.
