Florida information
Florida is also called The Sunshine State because of the beautiful weather and is especially popular with holidaymakers because of the many sights. Notable attractions include Cape Canaveral, Dry Tortugas National Park, Biscayne National Park, Everglades, and World Disney. From Fort Lauderdale, also known as the Venice of America, there are daily day trips to the Bahamas. Florida is a perfect destination for a sun holiday with its long sandy beaches in both the west and the east. Well-known beach resorts are Miami, Key West, Naples and Fort Meyers. The capital of Florida is not the large Jacksonville but the smaller Tallahassee. See all cities in Florida.
Geography
Florida is a state that consists of two parts, the Peninsula and the Florida Panhandle. Florida has a very long coastline and is located on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. South of the Florida Panhandle is the Florida Keys archipelago. The islands can be reached via the 200-kilometer Overseas Highway that ends in Key West. Florida is 700 kilometers from north to south and 580 kilometers from west to east. The state borders Georgia and Alabama. The Bahamas is 100 kilometers east of the peninsula and Cuba 150 kilometers south of Key West. Florida is mostly flat and wooded and with the Everglades also has a huge area of swampland.
Fort Myers
On the southwest coast of Florida is the quiet town of Ft. Myers, which is a small subtropical paradise in this American country. The city was founded in 1886 and to this day it has managed to save it from the stress and rush of modern times. Nevertheless, Fort Myers provides a number of job opportunities and entertainment options, but all in some way in harmony with the local nature. It offers beautiful swimming, ubiquitous lush greenery and dozens of uninhabited islands in the area, which are home to rare species of water birds.
The town is very small, with about 70,000 inhabitants, but it still manages to provide tourists with sufficient facilities to spend a relaxing and undisturbed holiday. In contrast to the larger city of Cape Coral, the city boasts a historic center, which will disappoint lovers of history from Europe, accustomed to monuments several centuries old. You will also find museums, lavish mansions and large parks. The main tourist attractions include the houses of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, which are separated by a fence, which is called the “Gate of Friendship”. There are also several very good restaurants and nightclubs in the city center.
The biggest attraction for tourists coming here to relax are the local sandy beaches and warm sea. Unique restaurants and small souvenir shops also await tropical sun lovers. On the beach you can rent jet skis, beach catamarans or get parachuted to the height behind the tugboat. In the summer, the sea on Fort Myers Beach warms so much that it becomes cloudy. The water then has a temperature of well over 30 degrees Celsius. The main tourist season here is from October to the end of April, peaking in March.
The adjacent islands of Captiva and Danihel, connected to the mainland by a 2-mile dam, are also attractive. Fort Myers crosses I-75, which connects it with Miami 150 miles south and Tampa 120 miles north. US 41 also runs through the city, which used to be the only connecting road with Tampa and Miami before the highway was built.
History
In 1513, the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was the first European to visit Florida, after which other compatriots such as Pánfilo de Narváez and Hernando de Soto also set foot ashore to explore the area.
After the Spaniard Pedro Menendez de Avilés massacred an entire French colony in 1565, he established the first settlement in St. Augustine. Only the Frenchman René Goulaine de Laudonnière escaped this massacre and wrote the book Histoire notable de la Floride about it in 1586. That same year, Francis Drake completely destroyed the settlement of St Augustine. In the ensuing period, the English expelled the Spanish from Florida until they recaptured it in 1783.
After Andrew Jackson invaded Florida in 1818, the Spanish were forced to give Florida to the United States in 1819. As a result, many whites settled in Florida, after which the Seminole War broke out, which lasted from 1835 to 1843. On March 3, 1845, Florida joined the United States as the 27th state.
When Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, there was a large influx of refugees, all of whom settled in the Miami area. Later, more Cuban refugees came to Miami, creating a large Cuban community. Today, relations between America and Cuba have somewhat recovered.
Economy
Florida has a prosperous economy that accounts for more than 6 percent of America’s total economy. The main source of income is of course tourism, partly because Florida is a holiday destination par excellence. Florida is also popular with retirees to enjoy their well-deserved rest in the sun. But a lot of money is also involved in trade, transport and healthcare.
| Abbreviation: | FL |
| Nickname: | Sunshine State |
| Joined the US as the 27th state on: | March 3, 1845 |
| Capital city: | Tallahassee |
| Census: | 19.057.542 |
| Surface: | 170.451 km² |
| Geography: | Bordering Georgia and Alabama |
| Governor: | Ron DeSantis |
| state motto: | In God We Trust |
| Florida official website: | myflorida.com |
