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Florida Overview

Millions of pleasure-seekers can't be wrong! Florida is North America's favourite holiday destination and draws hordes of tourists all year round. The reason for the state's popularity as a vacation station is its sunny climate and situation. Consisting of a peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean from the south-eastern corner of the United States, Florida's uneven coastline is indented with estuaries, bays, inlets, lagoons and rivers, creating ideal enclaves for the location of holiday resorts. Right in the south the peninsula ends in an arc of islands resting on coral reefs, known as the Florida Keys, today joined and accessed via a highway ending in Key West, the southernmost point of the United States.

After World War II, tourism development took off at a great pace, not to enhance its natural attractions, but in the form of building man-made ones. The central part of the state, particularly around Tampa and Orlando, has since become a theme park paradise for thrill seekers. Enticing venues offer everything from water slides to rollicking roller coasters, and themed animal habitats attract thousands to the accompanying resort hotels on the huge sites of Disney World, Sea World, Busch Gardens and other major resort operators.

The state's biggest city, Miami, echoes the vibrancy of the rest of this holiday mecca, with its soft white sandy beaches vying for attention with the city's numerous attractions and colourful neighbourhoods. Its famous Art Deco district and Latin American quarter are constantly thronged with visitors, many of them passengers from the hundreds of cruise ships that come and go in the bustling port. Within easy access from Miami are the Everglades, a marshy grass plain resonating with wildlife and filled with alligators.

Aptly named the 'Sunshine State', Florida can offer anything anyone seeks in a holiday, whether it be fine wining and dining, learning about space exploration, discovering endangered wildlife, riding a roller coaster or bronzing on one of its famous beaches.

Culture

The culture of Florida is the local American culture in the U.S. state of Florida. As a border and coastal state however, Florida culture has been greatly influenced by several large immigrant populations, especially those from Latin America and Europe. Florida is a melting pot as well as an international crossroad to the United States.

As one of the Southern states, Florida was long influenced by Southern culture. Southern culture remains prominent in the state, particularly in the Panhandle, North Central Florida, the First Coast, and the Florida Heartland. More recently the state's has been influenced by the cultures of people moving in from foreign countries and other parts of the United States. Florida culture is also influenced by its economy, most notably from the effects of tourism, a highly important industry in the state.

Geography

Much of the state of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. It extends to the northwest into a panhandle, extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by the states of Georgia and Alabama, and on the west, at the end of the panhandle, by Alabama. It is near several Caribbean countries, particularly the Bahamas and Cuba. Florida's extensive coastline made it a perceived target during World War II, so the government built airstrips throughout the state; today, approximately 400 airports are still in service. According to the National Drug Intelligence Centre, Florida has 131 public airports, and more than 700 private airports, airstrips, heliports, and seaplane bases. Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River, and only Alaska and Michigan are larger in water area. The Everglades, an enormously wide, very slow-flowing river encompasses the southern tip of the peninsula.

At 345 feet (105 m) above mean sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Much of the state south of Orlando is low-lying and fairly level; however, some places, such as Clearwater, feature vistas that rise 50 to 100 feet (15 - 30 m) above the water. Much of Central and North Florida, typically 25 miles (40 km) or more away from the coastline, features rolling hills with elevations ranging from 100 to 250 feet (30 - 76 m). The highest point in peninsular Florida, Sugarloaf Mountain, is a 312-foot (95 m) peak in Lake County.

Climate

The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is very distant from the ocean. North of Lake Okeechobee, the prevalent climate is humid subtropical climate, while south of the lake has a true tropical climate. High temperatures in the state seldom exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C), with much of Florida commonly seeing a high summer temperature in the 90s °F (32 °C).

Cold fronts can occasionally bring high winds and colder temperatures to the entire state during late fall and winter.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Florida was 109 °F (43 °C), set on June 29, 1931 in Monticello. The coldest was - 2 °F (-19 °C), on February 13, 1899, just 25 miles (40 km) away, in Tallahassee. Mean high temperatures for late July are primarily in the low 90s Fahrenheit (32 - 35 °C). Mean low temperatures for late January range from the low 40s Fahrenheit (4 - 7 °C) in northern Florida to the mid-50s (≈13 °C) in southern Florida.

The seasons in Florida are determined more by precipitation than by temperature, with the hot, wet springs and summers making up the wet season, and mild to cool, and the relatively dry winters and autumns, making the dry season.

The Florida Keys, being completely surrounded by water, have a tropical climate with lesser variability in temperatures. At Key West, temperatures rarely exceed 90 °F (32 °C) in the summer or fall below 60 °F (16 °C) in the winter, and frost has never been reported in the Keys.

Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State", but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state. Central Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States, as it experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. Florida has the highest average precipitation of any state, in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. A fair day may be interrupted with a storm, only to return to sunshine an hour or so later. These thunderstorms, caused by overland collisions of moist masses of air from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, pop up in the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and sometimes tornadoes. Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per square mile, but they do not typically reach the intensity of those in the Midwest and Great Plains. Hail often accompanies the most severe thunderstorms.

Snow in Florida is a rare occurrence. During the Great Blizzard of 1899, Florida experienced blizzard conditions; the Tampa Bay area had "gulf-effect" snow, similar to lake-effect snow in the Great Lakes region.

Hurricanes pose a severe threat during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30, although some storms have been known to form out of season. Florida is the most hurricane-prone US state, with subtropical or tropical water on a lengthy coastline. It is rare for a hurricane season to pass without any impact in the state by at least a tropical storm. August to October is the most likely period for a hurricane in Florida.

In 2004, Florida was hit by a record four hurricanes. Hurricanes Charley (August 13), Frances (September 4 - 5), Ivan (September 16), and Jeanne (September 25 - 26) cumulatively cost the state's economy US$42 billion. In 2005, Hurricane Dennis (July 10) became the fifth storm to strike Florida within eleven months. Later, Hurricane Katrina (August 25) passed through South Florida and Hurricane Rita (September 20) swept through the Florida Keys. Hurricane Wilma (October 24) made landfall near Cape Romano, just south of Marco Island, finishing another very active hurricane season.

Florida was the site of the second costliest weather disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$25 billion in damage when it struck on August 24, 1992. In a long list of other infamous hurricane strikes are the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, the Labour Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Donna in 1960, and Hurricane Opal in 1995. Recent research suggests the storms are part of a natural cycle and not a result of global warming.

Economy

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Florida in 2006 was $713.5 billion. Its GDP is the fourth largest economy in the United States. Personal income was $36,665 per capita, ranking 20th in the nation.

Tourism makes up the largest sector of the state economy. Warm weather and hundreds of miles of beaches attract about 60 million visitors to the state every year, many of whom are on villa holidays in Florida. Amusement parks, especially in the Orlando area, make up a significant portion of tourism. The Walt Disney World Resort is the largest vacation resort in the world, consisting of four theme parks and more than 20 hotels in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. They are: Universal Orlando Resort, Busch Gardens, Sea World, and other major parks drive state tourism. Many beach towns are also popular tourist destinations, particularly in the winter months.

The second largest industry is agriculture. Citrus fruit, especially oranges, are a major part of the economy, and Florida produces the majority of citrus fruit grown in the U.S. - in 2006 67 percent of all citrus, 74 percent of oranges, 58 percent of tangerines, and 54 percent of grapefruit. About 95 percent of commercial orange production in the state is destined for processing (mostly as orange juice, the official state beverage). Citrus canker continues to be an issue of concern. Other products include sugarcane, strawberries, tomatoes and celery. The Everglades Agricultural Area is a major centre for agriculture. The environmental impact of agriculture - especially water pollution- is a major issue in Florida today.

Phosphate mining, concentrated in the Bone Valley, is the state's third-largest industry. The state produces about 75 percent of the phosphate required by farmers in the United States and 25 percent of the world supply, with about 95 percent used for agriculture (90 percent for fertilizer and 5 percent for livestock feed supplements) and 5 percent used for other products.

Since the arrival of the NASA Merritt Island launch sites on Cape Canaveral (most notably Kennedy Space Centre) in 1962, Florida has developed a sizable aerospace industry.

In addition, the state has seen a recent boom in medical and bio-tech industries throughout its major metropolitan areas. Orlando was recently chosen as the official site for the new headquarters of the Burnham Institute, a major bio-tech and medical research company.

Busch Gardens Disney World Florida Keys
Key West Sea World Tampa