FLORIDA FACTS

He discovered the state and named it for all of the flowers he saw blooming everywhere he went.

Ponce was really looking for the "fountain of youth", but got sidetracked by those pretty flowers. He may have been the first celebrity in the state, but check here for other famous people from Florida.

If you believe I've left off some important facts, please let me know about it on the Contact Me form.

Here are some other Florida facts in no particular order.

OFFICIAL NICKNAME: The Sunshine State

HISTORY: Florida has belonged to Spain, England, France, The Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. It became a U.S. territory in 1821 and a state in 1845. Florida history is an interesting subject.

CAPITAL: Tallahassee

POPULATION: 18,300,000 estimated in 2009. It is the fourth most populous state in the U.S. Only California, Texas and New York have more people. It seems like half the people in New York move to Florida, so watch for Florida to move to No. 3 pretty soon.

CITIES: One of the least known Florida facts is that Jacksonville is the largest city in the statewith 736,000 people, but the Metro Areas of Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater (2,396,000), Miami (2,253,000), Orlando (1,645,000), Ft. Lauderdale (1,623,000) and West Palm Beach/Boca Raton (1,131,0000) all have more people than the the Jacksonville metro area with about 1,100,000 people. Learn about these and other Florida Towns.

AIRPORTS: Florida has hundreds of local airports, and 12 international airports.

INCOME TAX: Florida has no income tax. Only 5 states in the U.S. have a lower total tax burden than Florida, including property taxes and sales taxes. One of the most interesting facts about Florida taxes is that the State of Florida constitution prohibits an income tax.

SALES TAX: Florida state sales tax is 6%.

FLORIDA HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION: Florida residents get a reduction of $50,000 in their home's assessed value for property tax purposes.

COUNTIES: Florida has 67 counties. The most populated is Miami-Dade, with 2,253,362 people; the least populated are Liberty and Lafayette, each with 7,100 people. Learn more about Florida Counties.

LAKES: Florida has about 7,800 lakes, some as small as one acre. The largest is 448,000 acre Lake Okeechobee. This is the second largest lake in the U.S.

RIVERS: Florida has 34 major rivers, including the 273 mile long north-flowing St. Johns River. All told, Florida has more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams & waterways.

BEACHES: The shoreline of Florida is 1,800 miles long and 1,200 of that is sand beach. No place in Florida is more than 60 miles from an ocean beach.

HOTEL ROOMS: Florida has more than 370,000 hotel and motel rooms.

CAMPGROUNDS: There are more than 700 Florida campgrounds, both public and private, with over 100,000 campsites. Florida state parks camping is a favorite recreational activity.

GOLF COURSES: Among the interesting facts about Florida is that it has 1,250 golf courses, more than any other state. There are more of them in Palm Beach County than any other Florida county.

ELEVATIONS: The highest point in the state is at elevation 345 feet above sea level near DeFuniak Springs.

HURRICANES: The six-month hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Florida facts include dozens of bad storms, and Florida hurricane history is well known. Most Floridians head for high ground when a storm threatens their area. See Florida Hurricane History.

NATIONAL PARKS: There are two national parks in the State. Biscayne National Park has more than 180,000 acres underwater. Everglades National Park has more than 1.4 million acres.

NATIONAL FORESTS: There are four national forests in Florida: Apalachicola, Choctawhatchee, Osceola and Ocala. These national forests add up to more than one million acres.

NATIONAL SANCTUARIES: There is one national sanctuary, the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary. It covers 2,600 square miles and stretches from Biscayne Bay southwest to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

STATE PARKS: The Florida state park system is one of the best in the U.S. More than 100 parks, most with camping, are well distributed around the state.

FLORIDA SNAKES: Of the 45 species and 44 subspecies of snakes in Florida, only 6 are venomous. Learn more about Florida Snakes.

HERITAGE SITES: There are more than 1,300 heritage sites in Florida, ranging from Indian trails to old forts, and including many structures in St. Augustine and South Beach and hundreds of other Florida towns and state parks. Learn about Florida Heritage Sites.

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS: The Miami Dolphins were the first NFL team in Florida. Now there are also the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the NBA, there are the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat. In the baseball major leagues, there are the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

In the NHL there are the Tampa Bay Lighting and the Florida Panthers.

In Arena Football, there is the Orlando Predators, the Florida Bobcats and the Tampa Bay Storm.

One of the amazing Florida facts is that none of these professional teams fills the stadium or arena with as many people as the University of Florida Gator football team in Gainesville during its regular schedule.

Sources of Florida Facts On This Website:

Florida-Backroads-Travel has done its best to verify these Florida facts, but verify them or use them at your own risk.

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