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About Florida

In an attempt to find the Fountain of Youth, a Spanish explorer discovered Florida and called it La Florida, or "full of flowers."

It’s warm year-round. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Ocean and Gulf temperatures can reach well into the 80s during summer, and swimming is possible year-round in South Florida. Florida has more than 1,200 golf courses, more than any other U.S. state and has more than 9,200 miles of hiking and biking trails. The Florida Everglades contains 1.5 million acres of sawgrass, marshes, mangrove forests, hardwood hammocks and wetlands, is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.

Run by some of the finest farmers and ranchers around, Florida farmers grow everything under the sun and supply the U.S. and the world with fresh produce. The state’s top crops include grapefruit, oranges, cucumbers, bell peppers, fresh market tomatoes, snap beans, watermelon, squash and sweet corn. In fact, Florida produces more than 70 percent of the nation’s oranges and ranks second in the nation for vegetable production.

The tropical and subtropical climate of the Sunshine State makes Florida a challenging and interesting place to hunt. White-tailed deer and wild hogs are the most commonly hunted species, but Florida also offers a number of unique hunting opportunities, including alligators, Burmese pythons, and Osceola turkeys.

Florida has endless opportunities when it comes to fishing. From salt water to fresh water, whatever you desire, you’ll find it here. The challenge isn’t catching fish but deciding where and what to catch.

Fun Facts

  • Cape Canaveral is America’s launch pad for space flights.
  • Florida is not the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii is farther south.
  • It’s the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
  • St. Augustine, settled by Europeans in 1565, is commonly called the nation’s oldest city.
  • Florida is the only state to have an embassy in Washington, D.C.
  • The flattest state in the United States.