Capital city | Tallahassee |
Population | 21,538,187 (2020) |
Surface | 170,451 km² |
Governor | Ron DeSantis (R) |
Member of the US since | 1845 |
Florida is one of the fifty states of the United States. The state is located in the south of the country. Florida’s abbreviation is FL. Its nickname is ‘The Sunshine State’, which means ‘The Sunshine State’. Florida is divided into 69 counties. With 17,397,161 inhabitants, Florida is one of the most populous states in the US. In the winter, many retired seniors come to Florida. They come from one of the many cold states in the northern United States and come here to enjoy the sun. That’s what you call hibernation. Some people take it one step further and move all the way to the Sunshine State. In southern Florida is a large swamp and national park: the Everglades. The Everglades are known for alligators and manatees. Here you can rent an airboat and go sailing. Then you can see the alligators up close. The Kennedy Space Center is located in Cape Canaveral. NASA launches satellites from here. Florida borders the states of Georgia and Alabama. The state also borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The capital of Florida is Tallahassee.
Towns
Here you can see the five largest cities in the state.
Florida’s Largest Cities
Name | Inhabitants | County | |
1. | Jacksonville | 821,784 | Jacksonville County |
2. | Miami | 408,568 | Miami County |
3. | Tampa | 335,709 | Hillsborough County |
4. | Saint Petersburg | 244,769 | Pinellas County |
5. | Orlando | 238,300 | Orange County |
The oldest city in the US is also located here. The city of St. Augustine was founded by the Spaniards as early as 1565. Another famous place is Key West. This town is located on an island in southern Florida and is part of the Florida Keys. Key West is only 150 kilometers from Cuba.
How many counties in Florida? The State of Florida comprises 67 counties.
Alachua County, Florida
Baker County, Florida
Bay County, Florida
Bradford County, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Broward County, Florida
Calhoun County, Florida
Charlotte County, Florida
Citrus County, Florida
Clay County, Florida
Collier County, Florida
Columbia County, Florida
DeSoto County, Florida
Dixie County, Florida
Duval County, Florida[7]
Escambia County, Florida
Flagler County, Florida
Franklin County, Florida
Gadsden County, Florida
Gilchrist County, Florida
Glades County, Florida
Gulf County, Florida
Hamilton County, Florida
Hardee County, Florida
Hendry County, Florida
Hernando County, Florida
Highlands County, Florida
Hillsborough County, Florida
Holmes County, Florida
Indian River County, Florida
Jackson County, Florida
Jefferson County, Florida
Lafayette County, Florida
Lake County, Florida
Lee County, Florida
Leon County, Florida
Levy County, Florida
Liberty County, Florida
Madison County, Florida
Manatee County, Florida
Marion County, Florida
Martin County, Florida
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Monroe County, Florida
Nassau County, Florida
Okaloosa County, Florida
Okeechobee County, Florida
Orange County, Florida
Osceola County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Pasco County, Florida
Pinellas County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Putnam County, Florida
Saint Johns County, Florida
Saint Lucie County, Florida
Santa Rosa County, Florida
Sarasota County, Florida
Seminole County, Florida
Sumter County, Florida
Suwannee County, Florida
Taylor County, Florida
Union County, Florida
Volusia County, Florida
Wakulla County, Florida
Walton County, Florida
Washington County, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
The Jacksonville skyline
Jacksonville is the largest city in the US state of Florida with 807,815 inhabitants in the year 2008. It is also the 13th largest city in the US. Although it is Florida’s largest city, the state capital is Tallahassee. Along with Miami, Jacksonville is the cultural, financial and industrial center of Florida. The Jacksonville metropolitan area had 1,313,228 residents in the year 2008. Jacksonville is named after General Andrew Jackson. The first inhabitants of the area where the city is now located are the Timucuan. That’s an Indian people. Not far from here is the border with the US state of Georgia. The river that flows through the city is the St. Johns River.
Partner cities
- Murmansk, Russia
- Nantes, France
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
Key West, Florida
Duval Street, Downtown Key West
Key West is a city and island in the US state of Florida. It is the largest city in the Florida Keys, an archipelago. Key West is also the capital of Monroe County. In 2014, the city had a population of 25,704. Key West is connected to the mainland by the Overseas Highway, a highway that goes from Key West to mainland Florida. The Overseas Highway is part of US Highway 1. It runs from Key West all the way to the border with Canada. The city also has an airport: Key West International Airport, with flights to many cities in the eastern United States, especially Florida. Many Key West residents are from the Bahamas. They were called Conchs (pronounced Konks). Today, many islanders call themselves Conch. When Key West declared independence in 1982, the country was renamed the Conch Republic. Key West (and the entire Florida Keys) declared independence because the United States wanted to enforce border controls at the end of the Overseas Highway. This is how they wanted illegal immigrants from Cubato prevent. The republic only existed for one day. Key West’s nickname is still the Conch Republic. In the streets of the city you can often see the flag of the republic fluttering, because it is still the official flag of the city! Key West is a popular vacation destination. In the historic city center, especially on Duval Street, there are many old Spanish buildings. Another tourist attraction is Mallory Square. Every evening hundreds of tourists come to this square to enjoy the sunset. There are also many street performers and vendors in the square. Also, people come to Key West to take a picture of a buoy, which says Southernmost point Continental USA (southernmost point of the continental United States, so Hawaii and Alaskanot included). This is just not true at all! Even further south is Ballast Key, a small island west of Key West. In fact, this buoy isn’t even the southernmost point of Key West itself! This is the Truman Annex naval base. Next to the Truman Annex is another historic building: Fort Zachary Taylor, an American Civil War fortress.
Miami, Florida
Assembly of Miami
Miami is a major city in the US state of Florida. Miami has 362,470 inhabitants. It’s all the way to the south. East of the swamp the Everglades. The city consists of two parts, Miami and Miami Beach. Miami Beach is a tourist attraction. Here is a large artificial beach. This is also known as the ‘American Riviera’. Many elderly people live in Miami. Most retired. These people enjoy their old age here. The city is full of hotels. However, there are a number of skyscrapers in Downtown. The Miami River runs through Miami. Miami has three universities.
Partner cities
- Buenos Aires (Argentina)
- Kagoshima (Japan)
- Madrid (Spain)
- Salvador (Brazil)
- Qingdao (China)
- Lima (Peru)
- Bogotá (Colombia)
- Santiago (Chile)
- Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
- Port-au-Prince (Haiti)
- Varna (Bulgaria)
- Nice (France)