Portal:Florida

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The Florida Portal

Florida (/ˈflɒrɪdə/ (listen); Spanish for "land of flowers") is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida is the 22nd-most extensive (65,755 sq mi or 170,300 km²), the 3rd-most populous (21,312,211 inhabitants), and the 8th-most densely populated (384.3/sq mi or 148.4/km²) of the U.S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Miami metropolitan area is Florida's most populous urban area. Tallahassee is the state's capital.

Florida's $1.0 trillion economy is the fourth largest in the United States. If it were a country, Florida would be the 16th largest economy in the world, and the 58th most populous . In 2017, Florida's per capita personal income was $47,684, ranking 26th in the nation. The unemployment rate in September 2018 was 3.5% and ranked as the 18th in the United States. Florida exports nearly $55 billion in goods made in the state, the 8th highest among all states. The Miami Metropolitan Area is by far the largest urban economy in Florida and the 12th largest in the United States with a GDP of $345 billion . This is more than twice the number of the next metro area, the Tampa Bay Area, which has a GDP of $145 billion. Florida is home to 51 of the world's billionaires with most of them residing in South Florida.

The first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who called it la Florida ([la floˈɾiða] "the land of flowers") upon landing there in the Easter season, known in Spanish as Pascua Florida. Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845. It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans, and racial segregation after the American Civil War.

Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, as well as for its increasing environmental issues. The state's economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, winter vegetables, the Kennedy Space Center, and as a popular destination for retirees. Florida is the flattest state in the United States. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida.

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The tri-state water dispute is a 21st-century water-use conflict among the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida over flows in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin and the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has regulated water flow for the entire Chattahoochee River, from Lake Lanier in Forsyth County, Georgia, to Alabama and Florida.

The states filed suit in 1990 in their conflict over the water supply; federal court has affirmed the Corps' authority to negotiate the conflict. As the Lake Lanier project was authorized by Congress, each of the three states is entitled to an equal portion of the water; the project was never envisioned only to benefit metropolitan Atlanta, the closest large city and one that has developed rapidly since the late 20th century, greatly increasing its water consumption. The water flows are also regulated to support a variety of uses by states downriver, including preservation of marine life under the Endangered Species Act, and support for major seafood industries. Read more...

Did you know...

... that of the more than 3,000 midwives working in the state of Florida in the early 1920s, Victoria Joyce Ely was the only one who was trained and licensed?
... that Jeb Bush was the campaign manager for Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's first Congressional campaign?
... that about 11,000 eggs of the Florida blenny were once found in an old can?
... that Jeanette Rubio was a Miami Dolphins Cheerleader before she married Senator Marco Rubio?
... that the yellow fly is Florida's most aggressive horse-fly?
... that upon its completion in 2016 at SeaWorld Orlando, Mako became the tallest, longest, and fastest roller coaster in the Orlando area of Florida?

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Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas
The main street in Alachua downtown historic district
Florida from space, taken by Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998

Current events

May 14, 2019 – Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces that Russian hackers accessed voter databases in two Florida counties prior to the 2016 presidential election. No data or vote tallies were affected. (NPR)
May 3, 2019 – Miami Air Flight 293: A Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida slides off the runway into the St. Johns River. All on board survive. (CNN)
April 2, 2019 –: According to a criminal complaint filed in a U.S. District Court, a Chinese woman is arrested and charged with making a false statement to the United States Secret Service after illegally entering U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on 30 March 2019 while carrying multiple passports, four mobile phones and a thumb drive containing malware. (BBC), (Reuters)
March 24, 2019 – Stoneman Douglas High School massacre aftermath: More than 60 school, county, city, child services and law enforcement officials, as well as mental health specialists, teachers and parents, hold an emergency meeting after the suicide of a second Stoneman Douglas survivor. Florida's emergency chief is requesting the state Legislature provide more mental health resources for the community. Coral Springs, Florida, police reported that, Saturday night, a current sophomore killed himself. Last week, Sydney Aiello, a 19-year-old graduate who had recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, took her own life. (The Guardian) (Miami Herald)
March 11, 2019 –: Mixed martial artist Conor McGregor is arrested in Miami Beach, Florida, on charges of robbery and criminal mischief. (LowKick MMA)
February 25, 2019 –: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is charged with two counts of first-degree solicitation in Florida. (ESPN) (NPR) (Fox News)

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Mike Gioulakis (2019-04-20) • Florida shuffle (2019-04-09) • Wayne Messam (2019-03-15) • 2003 Budweiser Shootout (2019-03-05) • Gaspar Jiménez (2019-02-24) • Emilio Milián (2019-02-24) • Steve Swindal (2019-02-15) • 2018 Florida Amendment 4 (2019-02-09) • Steinbrenner family (2019-02-02) • Reticulated siren (2018-12-24) • Agnes Ballard (2018-12-15) • Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (2018-12-12) • Tallahassee shooting (2018-12-09) • Mako (SeaWorld Orlando) (2018-10-04) • Colonial Plaza (2018-10-03) • Ybor Stadium (2018-09-06) • Loxahatchee Groves, Florida (2018-08-02) • Bradenton Riverwalk (2018-05-10) • Tyler Kinley (2018-04-29) • 1989 Florida's 18th congressional district special election (2018-04-21) • Murder of Harry and Harriette Moore (2018-04-02) • Nancy Marcus (2018-03-18) • Savannah Jordan (2018-02-03) • Ochlockonee River State Park (2018-01-19) • Marvin Pipkin (2018-01-19) • Orchard Pond Parkway (2018-01-15) • Loggerhead Key (2017-10-18) • Reid Moore Jr. (2017-09-12) • John W. Martin (2017-08-22) • Disappearance of Tiffany Daniels (2017-08-12) • Frank J. Canova (2017-07-20) • Tomahawk chop (2017-06-04) • The Visionary (2017-05-30) • 1966 Miami Dolphins season (2017-05-28) • Maurice S. Osser (2017-05-15) • Monument of States (2017-04-10) • Detachment Hotel (2017-03-07) • Henry L. Reaves (2017-02-16) • 2000 Miami Dolphins season (2017-02-15) • Walt Disney World Railroad (2017-01-27) • Merian C. Cooper (2016-12-08) • Stephanie Murphy (2016-12-06) • Wink Groover (2016-11-29) • Ecology Party of Florida (2016-11-10) • 1970 United States Senate election in Florida (2016-11-04) • 1970 Florida gubernatorial election (2016-10-03) • 1928 Florida Gators football team (2016-09-28) • Daisy Earles (2016-07-21) • Chris Murphy gun control filibuster (2016-07-05) • Pulse nightclub (2016-07-01)

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Tag all talk pages of Florida articles and categories with {{WPFlorida|class=|importance=}}
Ensure all Florida categories have a brief text description (e.g. Stuff in the U.S. state of Florida.)
Find images for articles (see Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Florida)
Provide sources for unreferenced articles (see lists at Cite sources and Unreferenced BLPs)
Add county templates ({{Hamilton County, Florida}}, {{Jackson County, Florida}}, etc.) to appropriate cities.
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