Florida

My State Report - Florida
by Nate Marz (spring 2008)

Do you know where you can see the creators of Gatorade and go to a Walt Disney Park?



IN FLORIDA!!!!!!!


Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State" and its motto is "In God We Trust". It got its nickname and motto because the sun comes up in Florida first and they believe in God.
Its most current population is 15,982,378 according to the 2000 census, and fourth ranked population. Its capital is city Tallahassee. Its largest city is Jacksonville, followed by Miami in 2nd and Tampa in 3rd.
The summers in Florida are hot and humid and about 81 degrees F. in July. The winters are cool and dry and about 59 degrees F. in January. Florida gets about 54 in of rain a year.
Florida is in the southeast region and its neighbors are Georgia, Alabama, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.
Florida has several major bodies of water including the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Ella, Lake Bradford, and Lake Iamonia. Some of the major landforms are the Florida Peninsula, Upland Florida Keys, Everglades, and Gulf Coast.
The highest point in Florida is Britton Hill in Walton County. The lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean, which is at Sea Level.

Florida's natural resources of soil are sand, forest, and rich dry swampland. Some cool minerals of Florida are limestone, phosphate, peat, and fuller's Earth. If you visit Florida some plant life that you would see are wild flowers, shrubs, and palm trees. When I was there, some animal life that I saw was fish, deer, crocodiles, and alligators.
The major industries in Florida are cigar making, tourism, agriculture, and electronics. Agricultural products include tobacco and orange. A few manufactured goods are guided missiles and space vehicles.

One of the first Native American groups were the Chiaha, which are made of Creeks and Seminole. They left from Georgia to Floriday, but had to fight for the land they wanted.
The first explorer was Juan Ponce de Leon who lived in Spain. He was in search for new land and treasure.
The Spanish founded Pensacola, by the peninsula, and St. Augustine. Florida became the 25th state in 1818.

Some importnat events is history were when Britian took over Florida in a war. Another is that after the British won, they left Florida and Spain came back to Florida.

My favorite places in Florida are Disney World, the Everglades and the Florida Keys. I would also like to go to Universal Studious, ride more rollercoasters, golf more, and swim in the ocean.
Some famous people from Florida are Wallace Amos who is the founder of Amos Cookies, and Jim Morrison who is a famous singer. One interesting fact is that the Florida Gators football team created Gatorade.
The state bird is a mocking bird. The state animal is the Florida panther and the state flower is the orange blossom. And finally, the state insect is the zebra butterfly.

I really liked Florida when I went there. There were interesting animals, plants, and landforms. I hope you go there someday and have a great time just like I did.