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Florida History, Geography, Population, State Facts

The Sunshine State

Great Seal of the State of Florida

Adopted on May 25, 1861; Revised 1985.

In 1985, Secretary of State George Firestone presented the revised Great Seal of the State of Florida to the Governor and the Cabinet. The previous State Seal had several errors which were corrected in in the 1985 Seal. This revised Seal has a Seminole Indian woman rather than a Western Plains Indian, the steamboat is more accurate, and the cocoa palm has been changed to a sabal palm as the Legislature prescribed in 1970.

In 1513, Ponce de Le?n, seeking the mythical Fountain of Youth, discovered and named Florida, claiming it for Spain. Later, Florida would be held at different times by Spain and England until Spain finally sold it to the United States in 1819. (Incidentally, France established a colony named Fort Caroline in 1564 in the state that was to become Florida.)

Florida's history in the early 19th century was marked by wars with the Seminole Indians, which did not end until 1842.

Capital City: Tallahassee

Capitol Tour

Florida: State of Florida Official Web Site

Admission to Statehood: Click for Date & List

Airports: Florida Airports Map ? Airport Links

Amtrak: South

Area: 65758 sq.mi, 22th ? Land 53997 sq. mi., 26th ? Water 11761 sq.mi., 3rd ? Coastline 1350 mi., 2nd ? Shoreline 8,426mi., 2nd

Area Codes: Florida

Biographies: Famous People from Florida

Bird:? Mocking Bird

Border States: Regional List ?? Alabama ?? Georgia

Cam World: Live Web Cams

Climate: Florida

Community Pages: Florida Cities, Towns, Communities List

Constitution: 27th State

County Profile: County Map ? 67 Counties

Courts: Judicial System

Current Events: Florida News Headlines

Department of: Education | Certification | Florida State University | University of Florida

Driving: DHS&MV

Economy: Agriculture: Citrus, vegetables, nursery stock, cattle, sugarcane, dairy products. Industry: Tourism, electric equipment, food processing, printing and publishing, transportation equipment, machinery.

Flag: Florida (FL)

Flower: Orange blossom ? Citrus sinensis

Cyndi's List ? Historical Societies

Geographic Center: Hernando, 12 miles northnorthwest of Brooksville

Geology Maps: Florida

Ghost Towns: Ghost Towns

Governor: Office of Governor

Highest Point: Britton Hill; 345 feet, 50th

Highways: Florida Highways

History: History Timeline

Hotels, Motels & Inns:

Kids Corner: State of Florida Kids Site