Facts about Florida

Flag:
1899 - Red diagonal cross that frames the state seal
Seal:
Indian woman stewing flowers; background a Sabal Palm and a steamboat sailing past the Rising Sun
Tree:
Sabal Palm
Flower:
Orange Blossom
Bird:
Mockingbird
Song:
"The Swanee River" ("Old Folks at Home")
Origin of Name:
By Juan Ponce de Leon during exploration of Northeast coast of Florida in 1513 Easter season. Named "La Florida" in honor of Spanish Eastertime Feast of Flowers, Pascua Florida

Nickname:
1. Sunshine State 4. Everglades State
2 Orange State 5. Peninsular State
3. Alligator State 6. Southernmost State

Size:
58,560 sq. miles
Rank:
4th in population
22nd in area and size

Population:
15,233,000
Density:
281.4 people per sq. mile

Terrain:
Northwest-rolling clay highlands
East-dense forests
Center-large citrus groves, bearing nearly four-fifths of the nation's oranges and grapefruits
Lakes-30,000 including ponds, and countless springs
Lake Okeechobee-barely 20 feet deep, it is the largest in the southern United States
Everglades-a 40 mile wide marsh, shaded by Mahogany and Live Oak trees covered with Spanish moss, sheltering a stunning array of wildlife, including blue herons, white ibises, ospreys, bald eagles and rare Florida panthers. Forests of Mangroves, called "walking trees" by the Seminole Indians, line the coast. Alligators and salt-water crocodiles search for prey and the manatee devour one-tenth of their body weight in sea grass every day.

Keys: s
1. Key Biscayne 12. Key Vaca
2. Elliott Key 13. Bahia Honda Key
3. Key Largo 14. Content Key
4. Plantation Key 15. Big Pine Key
5. Upper Matecumbe Key 16. Saddlebunch Keys
6. Lower Matecumbe Key 17. Sugarloaf Key
7. Long Key 18. Snipe Key
8. Grassy Key 19. Boca Chica Keys
9. Duck Key 20. Key West
10. Key Colony Beach 21. Boca Grande Key
11. Key Colony Beach 22. Marquesas Keys
Other Keys on the Gulf: Cedar Key / Longboat Key / Siesta Key

(Information from "Reader's Digest Atlas of America", dated 1998)

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