🌊Florida

The Sunshine State

Florida is home to the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in what is now the United States, the Kennedy Space Center, Walt Disney World, the Everglades, and more coastline than any state except Alaska. It is also the flattest state in the Union — its highest natural point reaches just 345 feet above sea level.

Spanish Beginnings

Juan Ponce de León landed on the Florida coast in 1513 and named the land La Florida — "the flowered one" — after the Spanish feast of Pascua Florida. In 1565, the Spanish founded St. Augustine on the Atlantic coast, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in what would become the United States. Spanish rule lasted nearly 250 years, interrupted only briefly by a period of British control between 1763 and 1783.

The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821 through the Adams-Onís Treaty, and the territory became a state on March 3, 1845.

The Seminole Wars

Even as the Spanish withdrew, Florida remained home to the Seminole people — a confederation formed largely from Creek groups who had migrated south, combined with Indigenous Floridians and escaped African-American slaves. The United States fought three Seminole Wars between 1817 and 1858, the longest and most expensive Indian wars in American history. Most Seminoles were eventually removed to Oklahoma, though a small community of their descendants remains in Florida today — famously calling themselves the "Unconquered People" because they never signed a formal peace treaty with the United States.

Space Coast

The stretch of Atlantic coastline around Cape Canaveral has been the primary American launch site for human spaceflight since the early 1960s. NASA's Kennedy Space Center, established in 1962, launched every Apollo mission — including Apollo 11, which carried the first humans to the surface of the Moon on July 16, 1969. Every Space Shuttle mission launched from Florida as well. Today, both NASA and private companies continue to launch crewed and uncrewed missions from the same coast.

The Everglades

The Everglades is a slow-moving "river of grass" that covers roughly 1.5 million acres at the southern tip of Florida. Fresh water spills from Lake Okeechobee and drifts almost imperceptibly south toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay. The ecosystem supports alligators, Florida panthers, manatees, crocodiles (Florida is the only place where alligators and crocodiles share habitat), and more than 350 species of birds. Everglades National Park, established in 1947, was the first national park protected primarily for its biological richness rather than its scenery.

Tourism Capital

Florida is the most visited U.S. state by tourists. Walt Disney World near Orlando opened on October 1, 1971 and has grown to include four theme parks, two water parks, dozens of hotels, and a workforce of more than 70,000 — the largest single-site employer in the United States. Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and countless beach destinations round out the visitor economy.

Quick Trivia

• Florida is the flattest state in the country, with Britton Hill (345 ft) being the lowest state high point in the U.S.
• The state is surrounded on three sides by water — the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Straits of Florida.
• Florida produces more oranges than any other state, although California has recently closed the gap.
• The shape of Florida is one of the most easily recognized outlines on the U.S. map.
• Miami is the only major U.S. city founded by a woman: Julia Tuttle, who offered land to the railroad in 1896 to extend the line south.

🗺️ Nearby States

Continue exploring neighboring states:

→ Browse all 50 states