Portal:Florida

Florida
Florida
State
	State of Florida
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	Map of the United States with Florida highlighted

The Florida Portal

Florida (/ˈflɒrɪdə/ ^ⓘ FLORR-ih-də; Spanish: [floˈɾiða] ^ⓘ) is a state in the Southeastern and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and The Bahamas to the southeast. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 23 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks seventh in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km²), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee.

Various Native American groups have inhabited Florida for at least 14,000 years. In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first documented European to make landfall in the region and named it La Florida, [la floˈɾiða]), giving the territory its present name. Spain subsequently incorporated Florida into the Spanish Empire in the early 16th century. In 1565, it founded St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States. The region was frequently coveted and attacked by Great Britain throughout the 18th century. Britain briefly gained control of Florida in 1763, but Spain recovered it in 1783 following the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Florida remained under Spanish rule until it was ceded to the United States in 1821, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Spanish sovereignty in Texas and the resolution of the border dispute along the Sabine River. Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3, 1845, and was the principal location of the Seminole Wars (1816–1858), the longest and most extensive of the American Indian Wars. The state seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, becoming one of the seven original Confederate States, and was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War on June 25, 1868.

Since the mid-20th century, Florida has experienced rapid demographic and economic growth. Its economy, with a gross state product (GSP) of $1.647 trillion, is the fourth largest of any U.S. state and the fifteenth-largest in the world; the main sectors are tourism, hospitality, agriculture, real estate, and transportation. Florida is world-renowned for its beach resorts, amusement parks, warm and sunny climate, and nautical recreation; attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, and Miami Beach draw tens of millions of visitors annually. Florida is a popular destination for retirees, seasonal vacationers, and both domestic and international migrants. The state's close proximity to the ocean has shaped its culture, identity, and daily life; its colonial history and successive waves of migration are reflected in African, European, Indigenous, Latino, and Asian influences. Florida has attracted or inspired some of the most prominent American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes, especially in golf, tennis, auto racing, and water sports. Florida has been known for being a battleground state in American presidential elections, although it has turned increasingly Republican in recent years. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Hurricane Charley approaching Florida on August 13

Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph (240 km/h) winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. It made landfall in Southwest Florida at maximum strength, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992 and tied with Hurricane Ian as the strongest hurricane to hit southwest Florida in recorded history.

After moving slowly through the Caribbean, Charley crossed Cuba on Friday, August 13, as a Category 3 hurricane, causing heavy damage and four deaths. That same day, it crossed over the Dry Tortugas, just 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie had struck northwestern Florida. It was the first time in history that two tropical cyclones struck the same state within a 24-hour period. At its peak intensity of 150 mph (240 km/h), Hurricane Charley struck the northern tip of Captiva Island and the southern tip of North Captiva Island, before crossing over Bokeelia causing severe damage. Charley then continued to produce severe damage as it made landfall on the peninsula in Punta Gorda. It continued to the north-northeast along the Peace River corridor, devastating Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Cleveland, Fort Ogden, Nocatee, Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Sebring, Lake Placid, and Wauchula. Zolfo Springs was isolated for nearly two days as large trees, power poles, power lines, transformers, and debris filled the streets. Wauchula sustained gusts to 147 mph (237 km/h); buildings in the downtown areas caved onto Main Street. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know...

... that a Florida resident was arrested after posting on RateMyCop.com?
... that Fane Lozman took Riviera Beach to the US Supreme Court once in 2013 for seizing his floating home and again in 2018 for arresting him, and won both times?
... that Lavinia Valbonesi, the first lady–designate of Ecuador, is a nutritionist who owns a fitness center in Tampa, Florida, and a healthy-dining location in Guayaquil?
... that a Florida TV station received and aired tapes of programs it was not supposed to broadcast?
... that the movies available to Florida's first TV station were so bad early on that the host called his show "The P.U. Club"?
... that a Florida TV station operated from an abandoned amusement park?

Selected quote -

General images -

The following are images from various Florida-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Key deer in the lower Florida Keys (from Geography of Florida)
Image 2A map of Florida, as seen from outer space. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 3Florida Municipalities and Counties (from Geography of Florida)
Image 4The Florida scrub jay is found only in Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 5Typical summer afternoon shower from the Everglades traveling eastward over Downtown Miami (from Geography of Florida)
Image 6Platydemus manokwari in Florida (from Environment of Florida)
Image 7Hurricane Andrew bearing down on Florida on August 23, 1992 (from Geography of Florida)
Image 8A shell midden at Enterprise, Florida in 1875. (from History of Florida)
Image 9Royal Poinciana tree in full bloom in the Florida Keys, an indication of South Florida's tropical climate (from Geography of Florida)
Image 10Sunniland stratigraphic column (from Environment of Florida)
Image 11Destruction in Lakes by the Bay near Miami following Hurricane Andrew (from History of Florida)
Image 12Five flags of Florida, not including the current State Flag. (from History of Florida)
Image 13Soldiers and crowds in Downtown Miami 20 minutes after Japan's surrender ending World War II (1945). (from History of Florida)
Image 14A 1527 map by Vesconte Maggiolo showing the east coast of North America with "Tera Florida" at the top and "Lavoradore" at the bottom. (from History of Florida)
Image 15Topographic map of Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 16A depiction of what might be Florida from the 1502 Cantino map (from History of Florida)
Image 17South Florida's climate is ideal for growing sugarcane. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 18Juan Ponce de León was one of the first Europeans to set foot in the current United States; he led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. (from History of Florida)
Image 19Tourists hunting in 1893 (from History of Florida)
Image 20Fall foliage in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 21A 1591 map of Florida by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues. (from History of Florida)
Image 22Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort (from History of Florida)
Image 23"Butterfly ballot" (from History of Florida)
Image 24Kennedy Space Center. (from History of Florida)
Image 25The Florida Everglades freshwater marsh system, dominated by sawgrass and other wetland vegetation (from Geography of Florida)
Image 26Seminole leader Osceola. (from History of Florida)
Image 27The brick Capitol as built in 1845. (from History of Florida)
Image 28Köppen climate classification map of Florida. (from Geography of Florida)
Image 29Andrew Jackson served as the first military Governor of Florida. (from History of Florida)
Image 30Bernard Picart Copper Plate Engraving of Florida Indians, circa 1721 (from History of Florida)
Image 31Snow is very uncommon in Florida, but has occurred in every major Florida city at least once; snow does fall very occasionally in North Florida (from Geography of Florida)
Image 32Alligator in the Florida Everglades (from Geography of Florida)
Image 33Timucua Indians at a column erected by the French in 1562 (from History of Florida)
Image 34Sunniland Oil Fields (from Environment of Florida)
Image 35The expanded West Florida territory in 1767. (from History of Florida)
Image 36The Battle of Olustee was the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida. (from History of Florida)

Related portals

Selected biography -

Gillum in 2014

Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who was the 126th mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Tallahassee city commissioner from 2003 to 2014.

In 2018, Gillum was the nominee of the Florida Democratic Party to be the governor of Florida. He had won the Democratic primary election over a field of five other candidates, including former U.S. Representative Gwen Graham and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. In the general election, he lost in a close race to Republican U.S. representative Ron DeSantis. Gillum's margin of defeat was just 34,000 votes (0.4%), making the election one of the closest gubernatorial races in modern American history. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Selected images -

Image 1Downtown Miami, viewed from Virginia Key
Image 2The main street in Alachua downtown historic district
Image 3Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas
Image 4Fountains at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa, Florida
Image 5A Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich that originated among the Cuban workers in the cigar factories in Key West, Florida^[1]^[2]
Image 6Florida from space, taken by Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998
Image 7Farles Prairie in Ocala National Forest
Image 8A Great blue heron at Alafia River State Park
Image 9Fort Brooke was a historical military post situated on the east bank (at the mouth) of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida

Current events

February 25, 2026 – 2026 Cuban crisis: The Cuban coast guard trades fire with an American marked speedboat registered in Florida 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) off of Cuba. According to Cuban government sources, the boat's occupants fired on coast guard personnel who approached it for identification, and injured a coast guard commander in the shootout, with returning fire killing four and injuring six unidentified gunmen. (CBS News)
February 22, 2026 –: Secret Service and police officials kill an armed 21-year-old man who entered Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. (BBC News)
February 20, 2026 –: The Florida Legislature, in the United States, passes a measure to formally rename Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, as the "President Donald J. Trump International Airport". (The Guardian) (Bloomberg) (The Telegraph)
February 4, 2026 – Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Florida: Ryan Wesley Routh, the man who attempted to assassinate United States president Donald Trump while he was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2024, is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. (The New York Times)

WikiProjects

Main project

WikiProject Florida

Sub-projects

Jacksonville
Manatee-Sarasota History
Miami
Navarre
Tampa Bay
Florida International University
Florida State University
State University System of Florida
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
U.S. Roads/Florida

Selected panorama -

The Seven Mile Bridge, in the Florida Keys, runs over a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait, connecting Knight's Key (the location of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is one of the many bridges on US 1 in the Keys, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.

Topics

Quality content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Florida}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

Reached maximum of 50 out of 229

Did you know? articles

Olivia Ponton (2026-02-27) • WZVN-TV (2026-02-26) • West Palm Beach Fishing Club (2026-01-22) • Scarlett Spears (2026-01-13) • Derek Han (2026-01-05) • MLS Cup 2025 (2025-12-27) • WKMG-TV (2025-12-12) • Splash (otter) (2025-11-28) • Lewis House (Tallahassee, Florida) (2025-11-10) • John Adams Cameron (2025-11-01) • Bop House (2025-10-29) • Weezer Cruise (2025-10-17) • WTWC-TV (2025-09-09) • Luisa Moreno (2025-08-10) • Arielle Prepetit (2025-08-05) • Chelsea Wolfe (BMX cyclist) (2025-07-23) • Jeff Baena (2025-06-29) • Samantha Nye (2025-06-26) • WRBW (2025-06-24) • Leander Wiegand (2025-06-24) • Jeremy Crawshaw (2025-06-18) • Arrest of Marcy Rheintgen (2025-05-24) • WTLV (2025-05-05) • Sophie Rain (2025-04-28) • 2024 Tallahassee tornadoes (2025-03-20) • WTVX (2025-02-16) • La Querida (mansion) (2025-02-12) • 2025 Orange Bowl (2025-02-05) • Florida State University academic-athletic scandal (2025-01-19) • WZAZ (2024-12-31) • WOGX (2024-11-14) • Misinformation about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season (2024-11-07) • Jumbo's (2024-10-28) • MyRadar (2024-10-25) • J. D. Arteaga (2024-07-19) • Florida Hospital Oceanside (2024-07-02) • WOTF-TV (2024-06-29) • Caitlyn Wurzburger (2024-06-15) • WJHP-TV (2024-06-07) • WEDU (2024-05-09) • CSL Plasma (2024-04-12) • Liberty Christian Preparatory School (2024-04-05) • Tim Burke (journalist) (2024-03-11) • Gasparilla Pirate Festival (2024-03-02) • Buccaneers–Packers rivalry (2023-12-17) • Skytrain (Miami International Airport) (2023-12-05) • Anthony Bennett (gridiron football) (2023-12-05) • WPBF (2023-12-01) • If I Survive You (2023-10-26) • Ruby Diamond (2023-09-22)

Reached maximum of 50 out of 641

Associated Wikimedia

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Things you can do

Tag all talk pages of Florida articles and categories with {{WPFlorida|class=|importance=}}. (The rater user script can be used to help tag articles.)
Find images for articles (see Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Florida)
Cleanup requests: clean-up listing for Florida
Expand any existing stub
Add county templates ({{Hamilton County, Florida}}, {{Jackson County, Florida}}, etc.) to appropriate cities.
Add appropriate short descriptions to Florida-related articles.

Sources

^ "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.
^ "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

Discover Wikipedia using portals

[1] "Cuba's most famous food isn't even from Cuba — or Miami". Matador Network.

[2] "Viva La Cuban Sandwich!". Farmers’ Almanac. March 20, 2015.

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