Portal:Florida

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Florida's location within the United States

Florida /ˈflɒrɪdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Most of the state is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico on its west and the Atlantic Ocean on its east. Much of the state has a humid subtropical climate; southern Florida has a tropical climate. Florida was named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the peninsula on 2 April 1513, during Pascua Florida (Spanish for "Flowery Easter," referring to the Easter season). Florida is the fourth most populous state in the country.

Archaeological research indicates that Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous peoples, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes. Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador, named Florida in honor of his discovery of the land on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish term for the Easter season (Juan Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida; according to one report, at least one indigenous tribesman who he encountered in Florida in 1513 spoke Spanish.) From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida" , although from 1630 until the 19th century Tegesta (after the Tequesta tribe) was the name of choice for the Florida peninsula following publication of a map by the Dutch cartographer Hessel Gerritsz in Joannes de Laet's History of the New World. Over the following century, both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success. In 1559, Spanish Pensacola was established by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano as the first European settlement in the continental United States, but it had become abandoned by 1561 and would not be reinhabited until the 1690s. French Huguenots founded Fort Caroline in modern-day Jacksonville in 1564, but the fort was conquered by Spanish forces from St. Augustine the following year. Florida is considered the fishing capital of the world. One of the finest estuaries can be found in the Palm Coast and St Augustine areas. Guided fishing charters and sightseeing tours are very popular in this area because of its unrivaled beauty. Companies such as Palm Coast Fishing Trips are a great way to experience this part of Florida.

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A modern Publix store in Pompano Beach, Florida
Publix Super Markets, Inc. (commonly known as Publix) is an American supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, it is an employee-owned, privately held corporation and was ranked No. 4 on Forbes' 2006 list of "America's Largest Private Companies." The company's 2007 sales totaled US$23 billion, with profits of over $1 billion, ranking #107 on Fortune magazine's Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies in 2007. Supermarket News ranked Publix No. 8 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year sales. Based on 2006 revenue, Publix is the fifteenth-largest retailer in the United States. Publix's slogan is "Where Shopping is a Pleasure".

Publix has operations in five states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. It employs over 146,000 people at its 928 retail locations, corporate offices, eight grocery distribution centers, and nine Publix brand manufacturing facilities which produce its dairy, deli, bakery, and other food products. In addition, Publix owns "Crispers", a chain of restaurants in Florida specializing in salads; some Crispers locations are adjacent or built into the already existing deli department in select Publix Super Markets.

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Discovery Cove amusement park
Credit: Mlowin

Discovery Cove is a theme park near Orlando, Florida where guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. The park, which is operated by the Busch Entertainment Corporation (the theme park division of Anheuser-Busch) is adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact with exotic birds, tropical fishes, rays and land mammals.

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Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in 1953
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953) was an American author who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie, also known as The Yearling. The book was written long before the concept of young-adult fiction, but is now commonly included in teen-reading lists.

Marjorie Kinnan was born in 1896 in Washington, DC, to Frank, an attorney for the US Patent Office, and Ida Kinnan. She was interested in writing as early as age six, and submitted stories to the children's sections of newspapers until she was 16. At age 15, she entered a story titled "The Reincarnation of Miss Hetty," for which she won a prize. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and received a degree in English in 1918, and met Charles Rawlings while working for the school literary magazine.

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A thoroughbred breed of horse

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Believe me, this country [Florida] has been greatly overrated. One acre of our fine Tennessee land is worth a thousand here

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San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park
Credit: Ebyabe

San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park in Alachua County, Florida. It is located northwest of Gainesville, Florida on CR 232 (Millhopper Road) and off U.S. 441, just south of the town of Alachua. Among the wildlife of the park are bobcats, white-tailed deer, gray foxes, turkeys, and many species of songbirds.

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1928 Okeechobee HurricaneWilliam CooleyFlorida Atlantic UniversityHistory of Miami, FloridaList of Florida birdsList of Florida hurricanesList of sister cities in FloridaList of snow events in FloridaList of wild mammal species of FloridaRoman Catholic Archdiocese of MiamiEverglades National ParkRosewood massacreMarjory Stoneman DouglasRestoration of the EvergladesIndigenous people of the Everglades regionGeography and ecology of the EvergladesDraining and development of the EvergladesTropical Storm Keith (1988)

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Brothers to the RescueBurger KingCasey Donovan (porn star)Florida International UniversityFlorida State UniversityUniversity of Central FloridaFort Lauderdale, FloridaHurricane CharleyHurricane IvanKey BiscayneMiami River (Florida)Osborne ReefSuper Bowl XLIMary McLeod BethuneAgainst All Odds (2005)Key BiscaynePort Charlotte High SchoolShawn LonsdaleMore...

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Counties: AlachuaBakerBayBradfordBrevardBrowardCalhounCharlotteCitrusClayCollierColumbiaDeSotoDixieDuvalEscambiaFlaglerFranklinGadsenGilchristGladesGulHamiltonHardeeHendryHernandoHighlandsHillsboroughHolmesIndian RiverJacksonJeffersonLafayetteLakeLeeLeonLevyLibertyMadisonManateeMarionMartinMiami-DadeMonroeNassauOkaloosaOkeechobeeOrangeOsceolaPalm BeachPascoPinellasPolkPutnamSaint JohnsSaint LucieSanta RosaSarasotaSeminoleSumterSuwanneeTaylorUnionVolusiaWakullaWaltonWashington

Regions of Florida: Apalachee ProvinceBig BendCentral FloridaEmerald CoastFirst CoastFlorida HeartlandFlorida KeysFlorida PanhandleFlorida SuncoastFun CoastGold CoastNature CoastNorth Central FloridaNortheast FloridaNorth FloridaRed Hills RegionSouthwest FloridaSpace CoastTampa Bay AreaTreasure Coast

Education in Florida: Broadway Theater ProjectCenter for Research and Education in Optics and LasersCongrès de la Culture Francaise en FlorideDLLIFTCEFlorida Comprehensive Assessment TestFlorida Distance Learning ConsortiumFlorida Literacy Coalition, Inc.Florida Music Educators AssociationHigh School Competency TestSilver Knight AwardsStenotype Institute

Transportation in Florida: Apalachee ParkwayCapital Circle, TallahasseeConners HighwayFlorida Department of TransportationJacksonville Transportation AuthorityJohn Anderson HighwayList of paved Florida bike trailsMiami-Dade Expressway AuthorityNortheast Florida Regional Transportation CommissionOrlando-Orange County Expressway AuthorityPeninsular Land, Transportation and Manufacturing CompanySouth Florida Auto ShowSunPassSunRailTampa Bay Area Regional Transportation AuthorityTampa-Hillsborough Expressway AuthorityVolusia County Public Transit System

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