Portal:Florida

Florida
Florida
State
	State of Florida
	Flag Seal
	Map of the United States with Florida highlighted

The Florida Portal

Florida (/ˈflɒrɪdə/ ^ⓘ FLORR-ih-də; Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ^ⓘ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km²), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee.

Various Native American tribes have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to make landfall, calling the region La Florida (land of flowers) ([la floˈɾiða]). Florida subsequently became the first area in the continental U.S. to be permanently settled by Europeans, with the settlement of St. Augustine, founded in 1565, being the oldest continuously inhabited city. Florida was frequently attacked and coveted by Great Britain before Spain ceded it to the U.S. in 1819 in exchange for resolving the border dispute along the Sabine River in Spanish Texas. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868.

Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy, with a gross state product (GSP) of $1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the fifteenth-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism, hospitality, agriculture, real estate, and transportation. Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida is a popular destination for retirees, seasonal vacationers, and both domestic and international migrants. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture, identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in African, European, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of the most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Florida has been known for being a battleground state in American presidential elections, although it has turned increasingly Republican in recent years. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Charley near peak intensity shortly before landfall in Florida on August 13

Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph (240 km/h) winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It made landfall in Southwest Florida at maximum strength, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992 and tied with Hurricane Ian as the strongest hurricane to hit southwest Florida in recorded history.

After moving slowly through the Caribbean, Charley crossed Cuba on Friday, August 13, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing heavy damage and four deaths. That same day, it crossed over the Dry Tortugas, just 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie had struck northwestern Florida. It was the first time in history that two tropical cyclones struck the same state within a 24-hour period. At its peak intensity of 150 mph (240 km/h), Hurricane Charley struck the northern tip of Captiva Island and the southern tip of North Captiva Island, before crossing over Bokeelia causing severe damage. Charley then continued to produce severe damage as it made landfall on the peninsula in Punta Gorda. It continued to the north-northeast along the Peace River corridor, devastating Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Cleveland, Fort Ogden, Nocatee, Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Sebring, Lake Placid, and Wauchula. Zolfo Springs was isolated for nearly two days as large trees, power poles, power lines, transformers, and debris filled the streets. Wauchula sustained gusts to 147 mph (237 km/h); buildings in the downtown areas caved onto Main Street. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know...

... that a Florida TV station abruptly removed programs from its schedule after it became unable to pay distributors?
... that the legal battle over awarding channel 9 in Orlando, Florida, the longest case in FCC history at the time, filled 55 volumes?
... that two EF2 tornadoes merged near downtown Tallahassee in 2024?
... that actress Emma Stone contributed "oddities" to "Florida!!!"?
... that East Lake Square, a failed shopping mall in Tampa, Florida, was converted into a business park known as NetPark Tampa Bay in 1999?
... that a Florida resident was arrested after posting on RateMyCop.com?

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General images -

The following are images from various Florida-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Fall foliage in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 2Snow is very uncommon in Florida, but has occurred in every major Florida city at least once; snow does fall very occasionally in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 3Soldiers and crowds in Downtown Miami 20 minutes after Japan's surrender ending World War II (1945). (from History of Florida)
Image 4The expanded West Florida territory in 1767. (from History of Florida)
Image 5Sunniland stratigraphic column (from Environment of Florida)
Image 6Key deer in the lower Florida Keys (from Geography of Florida)
Image 7The brick Capitol as built in 1845. (from History of Florida)
Image 8Kennedy Space Center. (from History of Florida)
Image 9A 1527 map by Vesconte Maggiolo showing the east coast of North America with "Tera Florida" at the top and "Lavoradore" at the bottom. (from History of Florida)
Image 10"Butterfly ballot" (from History of Florida)
Image 11Juan Ponce de León was one of the first Europeans to set foot in the current United States; he led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. (from History of Florida)
Image 12The Battle of Olustee was the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida. (from History of Florida)
Image 13A 1591 map of Florida by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues. (from History of Florida)
Image 14Platydemus manokwari in Florida (from Environment of Florida)
Image 15Köppen climate classification map of Florida. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 16Hurricane Andrew bearing down on Florida on August 23, 1992 (from Geography of Florida)
Image 17Alligator in the Florida Everglades (from Geography of Florida)
Image 18Royal Poinciana tree in full bloom in the Florida Keys, an indication of South Florida's tropical climate (from Geography of Florida)
Image 19A map of Florida, as seen from outer space. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 20Tourists hunting in 1893 (from History of Florida)
Image 21Sunniland Oil Fields (from Environment of Florida)
Image 22Typical summer afternoon shower from the Everglades traveling eastward over Downtown Miami (from Geography of Florida)
Image 23The Florida scrub jay is found only in Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 24A depiction of what might be Florida from the 1502 Cantino map (from History of Florida)
Image 25Destruction in Lakes by the Bay near Miami following Hurricane Andrew (from History of Florida)
Image 26Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort (from History of Florida)
Image 27Andrew Jackson served as the first military Governor of Florida. (from History of Florida)
Image 28Seminole leader Osceola. (from History of Florida)
Image 29Topographic map of Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 30South Florida's climate is ideal for growing sugarcane. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 31Bernard Picart Copper Plate Engraving of Florida Indians, circa 1721 (from History of Florida)
Image 32Timucua Indians at a column erected by the French in 1562 (from History of Florida)
Image 33A shell midden at Enterprise, Florida in 1875. (from History of Florida)
Image 34Five flags of Florida, not including the current State Flag. (from History of Florida)

Related portals

Selected biography -

Spurrier in 2010

Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL) mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was first inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986. He was inducted again as a coach in 2017, making him one of four members to be honored in both categories.

After retiring as a player, Spurrier went into coaching and spent five years as a college assistant for the Florida Gators, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the Duke Blue Devils where he began to develop his innovative offensive system while serving as the Blue Devils offensive coordinator in the early 1980s. He was hired to his first head coaching job by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983 and led the team to two playoff appearances in three seasons before the league folded. Spurrier returned to the college ranks in 1987, serving as the head football coach at Duke (three seasons), Florida (12 seasons), and South Carolina (10.5 seasons), amassing 228 total wins and a 72% career winning percentage. Between his stints at Florida and South Carolina, he led the Washington Redskins for two seasons with less success. Spurrier retired from coaching in 2015 and became an ambassador and consultant for the University of Florida's athletic department, though he briefly returned to the sidelines to coach the Orlando Apollos of the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Selected images -

Image 1Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas
Image 2The main street in Alachua downtown historic district
Image 3Downtown Miami, viewed from Virginia Key
Image 4Farles Prairie in Ocala National Forest
Image 5A Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich that originated among the Cuban workers in the cigar factories in Key West, Florida^[1]^[2]
Image 6Florida from space, taken by Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998
Image 7A Great blue heron at Alafia River State Park
Image 8Fort Brooke was a historical military post situated on the east bank (at the mouth) of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida
Image 9Fountains at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa, Florida

Current events

June 17, 2025 – 2025 Stanley Cup Finals: In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers in six games in a rematch of last year's finals, repeating as Stanley Cup champions. (Miami Herald)

WikiProjects

Main project

WikiProject Florida

Sub-projects

Jacksonville
Manatee-Sarasota History
Miami
Navarre
Tampa Bay
Florida International University
Florida State University
State University System of Florida
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
U.S. Roads/Florida

Selected panorama -

DeFuniak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,089 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,141.

Topics

Quality content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Florida}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Did you know? articles

Arielle Prepetit (2025-08-05) • Chelsea Wolfe (BMX cyclist) (2025-07-23) • Jeff Baena (2025-06-29) • Samantha Nye (2025-06-26) • WRBW (2025-06-24) • Leander Wiegand (2025-06-24) • Jeremy Crawshaw (2025-06-18) • Arrest of Marcy Rheintgen (2025-05-24) • WTLV (2025-05-05) • Sophie Rain (2025-04-28) • 2024 Tallahassee tornadoes (2025-03-20) • WTVX (2025-02-16) • La Querida (mansion) (2025-02-12) • 2025 Orange Bowl (2025-02-05) • Florida State University academic-athletic scandal (2025-01-19) • WZAZ (2024-12-31) • WOGX (2024-11-14) • Misinformation about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season (2024-11-07) • Jumbo's (2024-10-28) • MyRadar (2024-10-25) • J. D. Arteaga (2024-07-19) • Florida Hospital Oceanside (2024-07-02) • WOTF-TV (2024-06-29) • Caitlyn Wurzburger (2024-06-15) • WJHP-TV (2024-06-07) • WEDU (2024-05-09) • CSL Plasma (2024-04-12) • Liberty Christian Preparatory School (2024-04-05) • Tim Burke (journalist) (2024-03-11) • Gasparilla Pirate Festival (2024-03-02) • Buccaneers–Packers rivalry (2023-12-17) • Skytrain (Miami International Airport) (2023-12-05) • Anthony Bennett (gridiron football) (2023-12-05) • WPBF (2023-12-01) • If I Survive You (2023-10-26) • Ruby Diamond (2023-09-22) • 1989 South Florida television affiliation switch (2023-09-22) • WXEL-TV (2023-06-25) • 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship (2023-05-15) • 2023 Fort Lauderdale floods (2023-05-04) • Devin Futrell (2023-04-28) • Royal Palm State Park (2023-03-28) • Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission (2023-03-07) • WVUP-CD (2023-03-02) • Jett Howard (2023-02-22) • WJXX (2023-02-01) • 2022 Gasparilla Bowl (2023-01-22) • William Everett Potter (2023-01-16) • Killing of Sara-Nicole Morales (2023-01-12) • 2022 Boca Raton Bowl (2023-01-08)

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Associated Wikimedia

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Things you can do

Tag all talk pages of Florida articles and categories with {{WPFlorida|class=|importance=}}. (The rater user script can be used to help tag articles.)
Find images for articles (see Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Florida)
Cleanup requests: clean-up listing for Florida
Expand any existing stub
Add county templates ({{Hamilton County, Florida}}, {{Jackson County, Florida}}, etc.) to appropriate cities.
Add appropriate short descriptions to Florida-related articles.

Sources

^ "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.
^ "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

Discover Wikipedia using portals

[1] "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.

[2] "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

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