Facts for Kids

Juan Ponce de León was the first recorded European to reach Florida in 1513, and Spain soon set up settlements. One town, St. Augustine, started in 1565 and is the oldest European-founded town that people have lived in without stopping in what is now the United States. Later, Britain and Spain both controlled Florida at different times before the United States took control in 1821. Florida became the 27th state in 1845. Over the years many groups—Indigenous peoples, Africans, Europeans, and people from Latin America and Asia—have made Florida their home, shaping its food, music, and culture.

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States that sticks out like a long thumb between two big bodies of water. To the west is the Gulf of Mexico and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and farther south are the Florida Keys and the Straits of Florida. Because of this shape, Florida has a very long coastline—more than any other state on the mainland United States. The state has many people (over 23 million in 2020) and many cities, including the big Miami region, the city of Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and Tallahassee, which is the state capital.

plants and animals in Florida are extra busy and varied because the weather is warm and there are many kinds of places to live, like beaches, wetlands, and forests. These different homes help tiny creatures, big animals, and many kinds of plants survive. That is why Florida is known for its wildlife.

You can find sea animals such as bottlenose dolphins and the West Indian manatee, land mammals like the Florida panther and Key deer, and many reptiles including sea turtles and lots of alligators and some crocodiles. Birds range from pelicans to the special Florida scrub jay, which lives only in parts of Florida. People also see a few animals from cooler places up north sometimes, like snowy owls, when the weather patterns change.

Everglades is one of Florida’s most famous places: a huge, grassy wetland in the south where water moves slowly and many plants and animals live. Much of Florida is a flat peninsula, which means land surrounded by water on three sides. The state has sandy beaches, salt marshes, and long mangrove forests along parts of the coast. Florida’s warm climate helps palms and many kinds of wildflowers grow, and people enjoy beaches and parks. Because it is by warm ocean waters, Florida sometimes has strong storms called hurricanes, so people watch weather reports carefully during storm season.

A state symbol is something chosen to represent a state’s history, nature, or culture. Florida has several official symbols—things such as a state bird, a state flower, and a state flag—that help people remember what is special about the state.

The biggest city area is the Miami metropolitan area, where about 6.06 million people live. Other large metro areas are Tampa Bay (about 3.02 million), Orlando (about 2.44 million), and Jacksonville (about 1.47 million). The federal government groups places into 22 metro areas in Florida, and 43 of the state’s 67 counties are part of one of these metropolitan areas.

Miami metropolitan area is Florida’s largest metropolitan region, and Miami brings together many languages and cultures. The most populous city by itself is Jacksonville, while Tallahassee is the capital where state leaders meet. Other big places include Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast, Orlando in the middle of the state, and Cape Coral on the southwest coast. Florida has special-named regions such as the Panhandle (northwest), the Space Coast (near Kennedy Space Center), the Suncoast and Treasure Coast, the Everglades, and the Florida Keys. These regions help people talk about different kinds of weather, jobs, and ways of life across the state.