Illinois (pronounced [Ëɪ.lɨËnÉɪ] or "ill-i-NOY") is the 21st U.S. state and is located in the Midwest region of the United States of America. The state is the most populous in the midwest, and the 5th largest in the nation. Illinios known for its large and diverse population, its balance of rural areas, small industrial cities, vast suburbs and great metropolis, its highly diverse economic base, and its central location that has made it a transportation hub for 150 years. It is this mixture of factory and farm, of urban and rural that makes Illinois a microcosm of the nation.
About 2000 Native American hunters inhabited the area at the time of the American Revolution, and by a small number of French villagers. American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. Yankees arrived a little later and dominated the north, creating the metropolis of Chicago in the 1830s. The coming of the railroads in the 1850s made highly profitable the rich prairie farmlands in central Illinois, attracting large numbers of immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. Northern Illinois, strongly Republican, provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. By 1900, factories were being rapidly built in the northern cities, along with coal mines in central and southern areas, attracting large numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was a major arsenal in both world wars; large numbers of blacks left the cotton fields of the South to come to Chicago, where they developed a famous jazz culture.
The state is named for the Illinois River which was named by French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes that thrived in the area. The word Illiniwek means "tribe of superior men."[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
1.1 Climate
1.2 Recreation
2 History
2.1 Pre-Columbian
2.2 European exploration
2.3 19th century
2.4 Civil War
2.5 Twentieth century
3 Demographics
3.1 Religion
4 Economy
5 Energy
6 Transportation
7 Law and government
8 Largest cities
9 Education
9.1 Illinois State Board of Education
9.2 Primary and secondary schools
9.3 Colleges and universities
10 Professional sports teams
11 Miscellaneous topics
11.1 Selected list of notable residents
12 Lists
13 See also
14 References
15 Further reading
16 External links
[edit]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Illinois
The northeastern border of Illinois is Lake Michigan. Its eastern border with Indiana is all of the land west of the Wabash River, and a north-south line above Post Vincennes, or 87° 30' west longitude. Its northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42° 30' latitude. Its western border with Missouri and Iowa is the Mississippi River. Its southern border with Kentucky is the Ohio River.[2] Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.
Though Illinois lies entirely in the Interior Plains, it has three major geographical divisions. The first is Chicagoland, including the city of Chicago, its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. This region includes a few counties in Indiana and Wisconsin and stretches across much of northern Illinois toward the Iowa border, generally along Interstates 80 and 90. This region is cosmopolitan, densely populated, industrialized, and settled by a variety of ethnic groups. Cook County is the most populous county in the state, with over 5.3 million residents in 2004.
Southward and westward, the second major division is central Illinois, an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section (west of the Illinois River) was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western bulge of state. Known as the Land of Lincoln or the Heart of Illinois, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figures prominently. Major cities include Peoria–the third largest metropolitan area in Illinois at 370,000, Springfield–the state capital, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana.
Illinois, showing major cities and roadsThe third division is southern Illinois, comprising the area south of U.S. Route 50, and including Little Egypt, near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River. This region can be distinguished from the other two by its warmer climate, different mix of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged topography (the southern tip is unglaciated with the remainder glaciated during the Illinoian Age and earlier ages), as well as small-scale oil deposits and coal mining. The area is a little more populated than the central part of the state with the population centered in two areas. First, the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis comprise the second most populous metropolitan area in Illinois with nearly 600,000 inhabitants, and are known collectively as the Metro-East. Second, the Carbondale, Marion, West Frankfort, Herrin, Murphysboro area, is home to around 200,000 residents.
Collectively, all of Illinois outside the Chicago Metropolitan area is called "downstate Illinois".
In extreme northwestern Illinois, the Driftless Zone, a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Charles Mound, located in this region, is the state's highest natural elevation above sea level at 1,235 feet (376 m). The highest true elevation in Illinois is the Sears Tower with an elevation at the top of its roof of approximately 2,030 feet (the elevation of Chicago is approximately 580 feet and the height of the roof is approximately 1450 feet).
The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton to the Kaskaskia River is the American Bottom, and is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia. It was a region of early French settlement, as well as the site of the first state capital, at Kaskaskia which is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River.
See also List of Illinois counties, List of Illinois county name etymologies
[edit]
Climate
Because of its nearly 400 mile length, Illinois has a widely varying climate. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 88°F in the south during the month of August to a low of 10°F in the northwest during February. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 inches at the southern tip to around 35 inches in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 inches in Chicagoland due to lake effect snow, while the south normally receives less than 14 inches.[3] The highest temperature recorded in Illinois was 117°F, recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis, while the lowest temperature was -36°F, recorded on January 5, 1999, at Congerville.[4]
[edit]
Recreation
See also: List of Illinois state parks
Illinois has numerous museums. For example, the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford which features the dinosaur fossil Jane the Rockford T-Rex.
The Illinois state park system began in 1908 with what is now Fort Massac State Park becoming the first park in a system encompassing over 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas.
Areas under the protection and control of the National Park Service include:
Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor near Lockport
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
[edit]
History
Evening sky over a grain elevator west of ChampaignMain article: History of Illinois
[edit]
Pre-Columbian
Cahokia, the urban center of the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois. That civilization vanished circa AD 1400–1500 for unknown reasons. The next major power in the region was the Illiniwek Confederation, or Illini, a political alliance among several tribes. The Illiniwek gave Illinois its name. The Illini suffered in the seventeenth century as Iroquois expansion forced them to compete with several tribes for land. The Illini were replaced by the Potawatomi, Miami, Sauk, and other tribes.
[edit]
European exploration
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. As a result of their exploration, Illinois was part of the French empire until 1763, when it passed to the British as a result of the French and Indian War. George Rogers Clark claimed the Illinois Country for the Commonwealth of Virginia during his military campaigns there in 1778. The area was ceded to the new United States in 1783 and became part of the Northwest Territory.
[edit]
19th century
Historical populations
Census
year Population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1800 2,458
1810 12,282
1820 55,211
1830 157,445
1840 476,183
1850 851,470
1860 1,711,951
1870 2,539,891
1880 3,077,871
1890 3,826,352
1900 4,821,550
1910 5,638,591
1920 6,485,280
1930 7,630,654
1940 7,897,241
1950 8,712,176
1960 10,081,158
1970 11,113,976
1980 11,426,518
1990 11,430,602
2000 12,419,293
The Illinois-Wabash Company was an early claimant to much of Illinois. The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia. In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. At the last minute, the state's northern border was controversially moved 50 miles north from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to its current location to include the port of Chicago. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, but in 1819 it was decided to move the capital up the Kaskaskia River to Vandalia. Early U.S. settlement began in the southern part of the state and quickly spread northward, driving out the native residents. With the 1832 Black Hawk War, the last native tribes were driven out of northern Illinois.
The winter of 1830-1831 is called the "Winter of the Deep Snow". A sudden, deep snowfall blanketed the state, making travel impossible for the rest of the winter. Travelers lucky enough to find shelter had to stay where they were. Many others perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On December 20, 1836, a fast-moving cold front passed through, freezing puddles in minutes and killing many travelers who could not reach shelter. The adverse weather resulted in crop failures in the northern part of the state. The southern part of the state shipped food north and this may have contributed to its name: "Egypt", after the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.[5]
Illinois is known as the "Land of Lincoln" because it is here that the 16th President spent most of his life, practicing law and living in Springfield. In 1837, with Lincoln's support and urging, the General Assembly voted to move the capital to Springfield. As early as 1840, Illinois was called the "Sucker State", a nickname with several possible reasons.
Illinois was not a strong anti-slavery state. In 1853, led by Democrat John A. Logan, the legislature passed a Black Code designed to keep free blacks out of the state.
Chicago gained prominence as a Great Lakes port and then as a canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward. By 1857, Chicago was Illinois' largest city.
Further information: History of Chicago
[edit]
Civil War
Main article: Illinois in the Civil War
During the Civil War, over 250,000 Illinois men served in the Union Army, more than any other northern state except New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Beginning with President Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments, which were numbered from the 7th IL to the 156th IL. Seventeen cavalry regiments were also gathered, as well as two light artillery regiments.
[edit]
Twentieth century
In the 20th century, Illinois emerged as one of the most important states in the union with a population of nearly 5 million. By the end of the century the population would reach 12.4 million. The Century of Progress world's fair was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes in Marion County lead to a boom in 1937, and by 1939 Illinois ranked 4th in U.S. oil production.
Following World War II, Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago, activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in United States in 1957. By 1960, the first privately financed nuclear plant in United States, Dresden 1, was dedicated near Morris. Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, in 1959. The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1960, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines.
In 1970, the state's sixth constitutional convention authored a new constitution to replace the 1870 version. It was ratified in December. The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers, in 1985. The worst upper Mississippi River flood of the century, the Great Flood of 1993, inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland.
[edit]
Demographics
Illinois Population Density MapAs of 2005, Illinois has an estimated population of 12,763,371, which is an increase of 51,355, or 0.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 343,724, or 2.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 406,425 people (that is 959,470 births minus 553,045 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 63,011 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 328,020 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 391,031 people. As of 2004 there were 1,682,900 foreign-born (13.3%).[6]
At the northern edge of the state on Lake Michigan lies Chicago, the nation's third largest city. In 2000, 23.3% of the population lived in the city of Chicago, 43.3% in Cook County and 65.6% in Illinois's part of Chicagoland, the leading industrial and transportation center in the region, which includes Will, DuPage, Kane, and Lake Counties as well as Cook County. The rest of the population lives in the smaller cities and in the rural areas that dot the state's plains. According to the 2000 census, the state population center was 41.278216° N 88.380238° W in Grundy County northeast of Mazon.[7]
The racial makeup of the state is as follows:[8]
79.5% White
15.1% Black
4.0% Asian
0.3% Native American
0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
1.1% Mixed Race
Hispanic of all races combined number 14.0% of the population
Religious affiliation[9]
Christian: 80%
Protestant: 49%
Baptist: 12%
Lutheran: 7%
Methodist: 7%
Presbyterian: 3%
Other/general Protestant: 20%
Roman Catholic: 30%
Other Christian: 1%
Other religions: 4%
Non-religious: 16%
The top five ancestry groups in Illinois are: German American (19.6%), African American (15.1%), Irish American (12.2%), Mexican American (9.2%), and Polish-American (7.5%). Nearly three in ten whites in Illinois claimed at least partial German ancestry on the Census. Blacks are present in large numbers in the city of Chicago, East St. Louis, and the southern tip of the state. Residents citing American and British ancestry are especially concentrated in the southeastern part of the state. Metropolitan Chicago has the greatest numbers of people of Irish, Mexican, and Polish ancestry.
7.1% of Illinois' population was reported as under age 5, 26.1% under age 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.[8]
[edit]
Religion
Protestants are the largest religious group in Illinois. However, Illinois is not as heavily Protestant as neighboring states are. Roman Catholics, who are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, account for 30% of the population.
Metro Chicago is home to the 3rd largest Jewish population in the United States.[citation needed]
[edit]
Economy
Main article: Economy of Illinois
The 2004 total gross state product for Illinois was nearly US$522 billion,[10] placing it 5th in the nation. The 2004 per capita income was US$34,721.[11]
Illinois' agricultural outputs are corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, dairy products, and wheat. Illinois' universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops. Its industrial outputs are machinery, food processing, electrical equipment, chemical products, publishing, fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, petroleum and coal.
Illinois' state income tax is calculated by multiplying net income by a flat rate, currently 3 percent.[12] There are two rates for state sales tax: 6.25 percent for general merchandise and 1 percent for qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances.[13] The property tax is the largest single tax in Illinois, and is the major source of tax revenue for local government taxing districts. The property tax is a local—not state—tax, imposed by local government taxing districts which include counties, townships, municipalities, school districts, and special taxing districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on real property.
[edit]
Energy
Byron Nuclear Generating Station, in Ogle County.It could be said that nuclear power began in Illinois with the Chicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the world's first nuclear reactor, built on a squash court under the abandoned west stands of the Alonzo Stagg Field stadium on the University of Chicago campus. As of 2006, Illinois has 6 Nuclear power plants which contain 11 electricity producing reactors. As of January 1, 2005 Illinois ranked 1st among the 31 States with nuclear capacity.[14]
Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 0.9 million barrels per day. However, Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1 percent of U.S. crude oil proved reserves. Residential heating is 81 percent natural gas compared to less than 1 percent heating oil.[15]
About 68% of Illinois has coal-bearing strata of the Pennsylvanian geologic period. According to the Illinois State Geological Survey, 211 billion tons of bituminous coal are estimated to lie under the surface, having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in the Arabian Peninsula.[16] However, this coal has a high sulfur content, which requires special equipment to reduce air pollution.
[edit]
Transportation
The sample version of the current Illinois passenger license plate introduced in 2001.Because of its central location and its proximity to the Manufacturing belt and Corn belt, Illinois is a national crossroads and transportation hub. Illinois has an extensive rail network transporting both passengers and freight. Chicago is a national Amtrak hub and in-state passengers are served by Amtrak's Illinois Service featuring the Chicago to Carbondale Illini and Chicago to Quincy Illinois Zephyr. In addition to the states rail lines, the Mississippi River and Illinois River provide major routes for the states agricultural interests.
O'Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and is a major airport serving numerous domestic and international destinations. It is a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines, and a major airport expansion project is currently underway.
Major U.S. Interstate highways crossing the state include: I-24, I-39, I-55, I-57, I-64, I-70, I-72, I-74, I-80, I-88, I-90, and I-94. Illinois carries the distinction of having the most primary (2-digit) Interstates pass through it among the 50 states. In 2005, there were 1,355 traffic deaths on Illinois roadways, the lowest in more than 60 years.[17]
See also: List of Illinois Routes
[edit]
Law and government
Illinois Government
Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich (D)
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Pat Quinn (D)
Attorney General of Illinois: Lisa Madigan (D)
Secretary of State of Illinois: Jesse White (D)
Comptroller of Illinois: Daniel Hynes (D)
Treasurer of Illinois: Judy Baar Topinka (R)
Senior United States Senator: Richard J. Durbin (D)
Junior United States Senator: Barack Obama (D)
Main article: Government of Illinois
See also: 2006 Election for statewide offices in the State of Illinois
The state government of Illinois is modeled after the United States federal government with adaptations originating from traditions cultivated during the state's frontier era. As codified in the state constitution, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led by the Governor of Illinois. Legislative functions are given to the Illinois General Assembly, composed of the 118-member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois Senate. The judiciary is comprised of the Supreme Court of Illinois, which oversees the lower appellate and circuit courts.[2]
The dome on the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield is taller than the dome on the United States Capitol.Illinois has traditionally been a major battleground between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party . Since 1992, it has gradually become more Democratic at the national and state level. It is the most Democratic state in the Midwest. Illinois voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the last four elections. John Kerry easily won the state's 21 electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 11 percentage points with 54.8% of the vote. Traditionally, the central cities, especially Cook and St. Clair counties, have been Democratic strongholds, while the suburbs of Chicago have been historically Republican. However, the collar counties of Lake and DuPage, while still mostly Republican, have been trending towards the Democrats. Small cities and towns are typically Republican strongholds, except for the old coal mining towns. Rural districts in the northern third of the state have historically been Republican; those in the middle third mixed, and those in Little Egypt (the southern third of the state), Democratic.
Politics in the state have not always been above board. In 2006, former Secretary of State and Governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery. Former U.S. Congressman Dan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud. Former Governor and federal judge Otto Kerner, Jr. was imprisoned for bribery. Former State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller) Orville Hodge was imprisoned for embezzlement.
[edit]
Largest cities
Chicago's skyline
See also: List of cities in Illinois and List of towns and villages in Illinois
Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third most populous city in the United States. Cities over 100,000 include: Aurora, the largest suburb of Chicago and second largest city in Illinois. Rockford, the third largest city in Illinois, located in north-central Illinois. Naperville, a Chicago suburb and fourth largest city in the state. Elgin, a suburb northwest of Chicago. Joliet, a suburb southwest of Chicago. Peoria, the largest city on the Illinois river and Springfield, the state capital of Illinois.
[edit]
Education
Rockefeller Chapel, constructed in 1928, is the tallest structure on the University of Chicago campus.[edit]
Illinois State Board of Education
Main article: Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE, autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, administers public education in the state. Local municipalities and their respective school districts operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the Illinois School Report Card. The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.
[edit]
Primary and secondary schools
See also: List of school districts in Illinois and List of high schools in Illinois
Education is compulsory from kindergarten through the twelfth grade in Illinois, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school and high school. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district.
[edit]
Colleges and universities
The main quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.See also: List of colleges and universities in Illinois
While many students enter the military or join the workforce directly from high school, students have the option of applying to colleges and universities in Illinois. Notable Illinois institutions of higher education include Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the several branches of the University of Illinois system. Illinois is also home to 49 colleges in the Illinois Community College System.
[edit]
Professional sports teams
Soldier Field following renovation.See also: List of professional sports teams in Illinois
Because of its large and diverse population, Chicago is the focus of most professional sports in Illinois. It is the home to 15 different professional sports teams.
The Chicago Cubs of the National League play in the second-oldest major league stadium and are famous as "lovable losers" whose fans are nevertheless famously dedicated. The Chicago White Sox of the American League won the World Series championship in 2005, their first since 1917. The Chicago Bears football team has won 9 total league titles, including 8 NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX. The Chicago Bulls of the NBA are one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world, thanks to the heroics of a player often cited as the best ever, Michael Jordan, who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL began playing in 1926 as a member of the Original Six and have won several Stanley Cups. The Chicago Fire soccer club are members of MLS and are one of the league's most successful and best-supported since its founding in 1997, winning one league and three US Open Cups in that timespan.
Chicago sports teams, like the Bulls, often carry a national following. However, downstate fans are sometimes loyal to adjacent sports markets, such as St. Louis.
[edit]
Miscellaneous topics
Illinois Symbols[1]
State animal: White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
State amphibian: Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum)
State bird: Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
State capital: Springfield
State dance: Square dance
State fish: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
State flower: Purple violet (Viola sororia)
State fossil: Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium)
State insect: Monarch Butterfly
State mineral: Fluorite
State motto: "State sovereignty, national union"
State Nickname: The Prairie State
State prairie grass: Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
State reptile: Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)
State slogan: "Land of Lincoln"
State snack: Popcorn
State soil: Drummer Silty Clay Loam
State song: "Illinois"
State tree: White oak (Quercus alba)
The USS Illinois was named in honor of this state.
[edit]
Selected list of notable residents
Main article: List of people from Illinois
Jane Addams, pioneer social worker, founded Hull House
John Belushi, early member of The Second City and Jim Belushi, both born in Chicago but grew up in Wheaton;
Joseph Gurney Cannon longtime member of Congress and Speaker in early 20th century
John Deere, farm machinery pioneer. Founded Deere & Company in Moline
Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Hugh Hefner, creator of Playboy magazine, which he based in Chicago
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, built his career in Springfield
Richard Durbin, currently the state's senior senator and United States Senate Minority Whip
Barack Obama, currently the junior Senator
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President; born in Tampico, attended Eureka College
Donald Rumsfeld, current U.S. Secretary of Defense; born in Evanston
Shel Silverstein, children's author; born and raised in Chicago
Adlai E. Stevenson, elected Vice President, 1892
Adlai Stevenson II, governor, 1952 and 1956 Presidential candidate
Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, lives in Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady of the United States, current junior senator from New York; born and raised in Park Ridge, outside Chicago
Richard Marx, pop-rock singer-songwriter
[edit]
Lists
List of Illinois rivers
List of newspapers in Illinois
List of radio stations in Illinois
List of television stations in Illinois
List of Registered Historic Places in Illinois
List of ZIP Codes in Illinois
[edit]
See also
Watersheds of Illinois
Scouting in Illinois
[edit]
References
^ State of Illinois. Illinois Symbols. Accessed on April 20, 2006
^ a b Wikisource. Illinois Constitution of 1818.
^ Illinois State Climatologist Office. Climate Maps for Illinois. Accessed April 22, 2006.
^ Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC). Illinois Extreme Temperature list. Accessed April 22, 2006.
^ Duff, Judge Andrew D. Egypt. Republished, Springhouse Magazine. Accessed May 1, 2006.
^ United States Census Bureau. 2004 American Community Survey.
^ American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. State Centers of Population. Accessed April 20, 2006.
^ a b United States Census Bureau. Illinois Quick Facts, 2004. Accessed August 28, 2006.
^ American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS). CUNY Key Findings. 2001.
^ Bureau of Economic Analysis. Gross State Products. October 26, 2005.
^ Bureau of Economic Analysis. State Per Capita Personal Income. March 28, 2006.
^ Illinois Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax . Accessed May 27, 2006.
^ Illinois Department of Revenue. Illinois Sales Tax Reference Manual (PDF). p117. January 1, 2006.
^ United States Department of Energy. Illinois Nuclear Industry. Accessed April 4, 2006.
^ United States Department of Energy. Petroleum Profile: Illinois. Accessed April 4, 2006.
^ Illinois State Geological Survey. Coal in Illinois. Accessed April 20, 2006.
^ Governor of Illinois. Press release. Accessed April 20, 2006.
[edit]
Further reading
Biles, Roger. Illinois: A History Of The Land And Its People (2005). ISBN 0-87580-349-0. survey by leading scholar.
Cole, Arthur Charles. The Era of the Civil War, 1848-1870 (1919). ISBN 0-8369-5646-X.
Davis, James E. Frontier Illinois (1998). ISBN 0-253-33423-3.
Gove, Samuel K. and James D. Nowlan. Illinois Politics & Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier (1996). ISBN 0-8032-7014-3. Government text with guide to further sources.
Hallwas, John E. ed., Illinois Literature: The Nineteenth Century (1986). OCLC 14228886.
Horsley, A. Doyne. Illinois: A Geography (1986). ISBN 0-86531-522-1, textbook.
Howard, Robert P. Illinois: A History of the Prairie State (1972). ISBN 0-8028-7025-2. textbook
Jensen, Richard. Illinois: A History (2001). ISBN 0-252-07021-6. Uses a traditional-modern-postmodern model.
Keiser, John H. Building for the Centuries: Illinois 1865-1898 (1977). ISBN 0-252-00617-8.
Meyer, Douglas K. Making the Heartland Quilt: A Geographical History of Settlement and Migration in Early-Nineteenth-Century Illinois (2000). ISBN 0-8093-2289-7.
Kleppner, Paul. Political Atlas of Illinois (1988). ISBN 0-87580-136-6. Maps for 1980s.
Pease, Theodore Calvin. The Frontier State, 1818-1848 (1918). ISBN 0-252-01338-7 . Volume II of a series published by the Illinois Centennial Commission.
James R. Grossman, Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff, eds. The Encyclopedia of Chicago (2004). ISBN 0-226-31015-9. online version; major scholarly guide to the metro area's history, geography, and culture
Peck, J. M. A Gazetteer of Illinois (1837). ISBN 1-55613-782-6.
Sutton, Robert P. ed. The Prairie State: A Documentary History of Illinois (1977). ISBN 0-8028-1651-7.
Works Progress Administration. Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide (1939). ISBN 0-394-72195-0. One of the most famous surveys--covers every town and city and much more.
[edit]
External links
Find more information on Illinois by searching Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
State of Illinois Web Site
Illinois Employment - State and County Data
U.S. Census Bureau
County Maps Illinois Full color county maps. List of cities, towns and county seats
Illinois State Facts
State of Illinois
Topics History | Government | Economy | Culture
Capital Springfield
Regions Champaign-Urbana | Chicagoland | Driftless Zone | Fox Valley | Little Egypt | Metro-East | American Bottom | Forgottonia |
Quad Cities | Northwestern Illinois
Major cities Alton | Aurora | Belleville | Berwyn | Bloomington | Burbank | Calumet City | Champaign | Chicago | Crystal Lake | Decatur | DeKalb | Des Plaines | Elgin | Elmhurst | Evanston | Joliet | Kankakee | Moline | Naperville | Park Ridge | Peoria | Quincy | Rockford | Rock Island | Springfield | St. Charles | Urbana | Wheaton | Waukegan
Towns and Villages Addison | Algonquin | Arlington Heights | Bartlett | Bolingbrook | Buffalo Grove | Carol Stream | Carpentersville | Cicero | Downers Grove | Elk Grove Village | Glenview | Hoffman Estates | Lake in the Hills | Lombard | Mount Prospect | Normal | Oak Lawn | Oak Park | Oswego | Orland Park | Palatine | Romeoville | Schaumburg | Skokie | Tinley Park
Counties Adams | Alexander | Bond | Boone | Brown | Bureau | Calhoun | Carroll | Cass | Champaign | Christian | Clark | Clay | Clinton | Coles | Cook | Crawford | Cumberland | DeKalb | DeWitt | Douglas | DuPage | Edgar | Edwards | Effingham | Fayette | Ford | Franklin | Fulton | Gallatin | Greene | Grundy | Hamilton | Hancock | Hardin | Henderson | Henry | Iroquois | Jackson | Jasper | Jefferson | Jersey | Jo Daviess | Johnson | Kane | Kankakee | Kendall | Knox | La Salle | Lake | Lawrence | Lee | Livingston | Logan | Macon | Macoupin | Madison | Marion | Marshall | Mason | Massac | McDonough | McHenry | McLean | Menard | Mercer | Monroe | Montgomery | Morgan | Moultrie | Ogle | Peoria | Perry | Piatt | Pike | Pope | Pulaski | Putnam | Randolph | Richland | Rock Island | Saline | Sangamon | Schuyler | Scott | Shelby | St. Clair | Stark | Stephenson | Tazewell | Union | Vermilion | Wabash | Warren | Washington | Wayne | White | Whiteside | Will | Williamson | Winnebago | Woodford
v·d·ePolitical divisions of the United States
States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal
district District of Columbia
Insular areas American Samoa | Guam | Northern Mariana Islands | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands
Minor outlying
islands Baker Island | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Palmyra Atoll | Wake Island
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois"
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | 1818 establishments | Illinois
ViewsArticle Discussion Edit this page History Personal toolsSign in / create account Navigation
Main Page
Community Portal
Featured articles
Current events
Recent changes
Random article
Help
Contact Wikipedia
Donations
Search
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Cite this article
In other languages
Anglo Saxon
اÙعربÙØ©
Bosanski
ÐÑлгаÑÑки
CatalÃ
Äesky
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
Français
Gaeilge
Galego
íêµì´
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
ÐÑонаÑ
Ãslenska
Italiano
×¢×ר×ת
á¥áá áá£áá
Kernewek
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
ÐакедонÑки
Nederlands
æ¥æ¬èª
Norsk (bokmål)
Norsk (nynorsk)
Occitan
Oyghurque
Polski
Português
RomânÄ
Ð ÑÑÑкий
Shqip
Simple English
SlovenÄina
SlovenÅ¡Äina
СÑпÑки / Srpski
Suomi
Svenska
à¹à¸à¸¢
Tiếng Viá»t
Türkçe
УкÑаÑнÑÑка
ä¸æ
This page was last modified 13:35, 29 August 2006. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
Florida is a U.S. state located in the southeastern United States. It was named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the coast on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida (Spanish for "Flowery Easter," referring to the Easter season).
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
1.1 Boundaries
1.2 Climate
1.3 Environmental issues
2 History
3 Demographics
3.1 Race and ancestry
3.2 Languages
3.3 Religion
4 Government and law
5 Economy
6 Education
6.1 Colleges and universities
7 Transportation
7.1 Highways
7.2 Intercity rail
7.3 Public transportation
7.4 Airports
8 Metropolitan areas
9 Important cities and towns
10 Professional sports teams
10.1 Spring training
10.2 Auto-racing tracks
11 State symbols
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
[edit]
Geography
Further information: List of counties in Florida
Florida is situated mostly on a large peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. It extends to the northwest into a panhandle, extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered on the north by the states of Georgia and Alabama, and on the west, at the end of the panhandle, by Alabama. It is near the countries of the Caribbean, particularly the Bahamas and Cuba.
At 345 feet (105 m) above mean sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highpoint of any U.S. state. Contrary to popular belief, however, Florida is not entirely "flat." Some places, such as Clearwater, feature vistas that rise 50 to 100 feet (15–30 m) above the water. Much of the interior of Florida, typically 25 miles (40 km) or more away from the coastline, features rolling hills with elevations ranging from 100 to 250 feet (30–76 m) in many locations. Lake County holds the highest point of peninsular Florida, Sugarloaf Mountain, at 312 feet (95 m).
Areas under control by the National Park Service include:
Big Cypress National Preserve, near Lake Okeechobee
Biscayne National Park, near Key Biscayne
Canaveral National Seashore, near Titusville
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, in St. Augustine
De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton
Dry Tortugas National Park, at Key West
Everglades National Park
Fort Caroline National Memorial, at Jacksonville
Fort Matanzas National Monument, in St. Augustine
Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Gulf Breeze
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, in Jacksonville
See also List of Florida state parks
[edit]
Boundaries
The state line begins in the Atlantic Ocean, traveling west, south, and north up the thalweg of the Saint Mary's River. At the origin of that river, it then follows a straight line nearly due west and slightly north, to the point where the confluence of the Flint River (from Georgia) and the Chattahoochee River (down the Alabama/Georgia line) used to form Florida's Apalachicola River. (Since Woodruff Dam was built,this point has been under Lake Seminole.) The border with Georgia continues north through the lake for a short distance up the former thalweg of the Chattahoochee, then with Alabama runs due west along latitude 31°N to the Perdido River, then south along its thalweg to the Gulf via Perdido Bay.
[edit]
Climate
Hurricane Frances near peak strength.
Florida taken from NASA Shuttle Mission STS-95 on October 31, 1998.
The "Cold Sunday" of January 1982 ruined most of the orange crop in Florida.The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by its proximity to water. Most of the state has a humid subtropical climate, with the Florida Keys bordering on a true tropical climate. Cold fronts can occasionally bring high winds and cool to cold temperatures to the entire state during late fall and winter. One such front swept through the peninsula on November 25, 1996, bringing cold temperatures and winds up to 95 miles per hour (150 km/h), knocking out power to thousands and damaging mobile homes. However, Florida averages 300 days of full sunshine a year. The seasons in Florida are actually determined more by precipitation than by temperature with mild to cool, relatively dry winters and autumns (the dry season) and hot, wet springs and summers (the wet season). The Gulf Stream has a moderating effect on the climate, and although much of Florida commonly sees a high summer temperature over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 °C), the mercury seldom exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit (39 °C). The hottest temperature ever recorded in the state was 109 °F (43 °C), set on June 29, 1931 in Monticello. The coldest was –2 °F (â19 °C), on February 13, 1899, just 25 miles (40 km) away, in Tallahassee. Mean high temperatures for late July are primarily in the low 90s Fahrenheit (32–35 °C). Mean low temperatures for late January range from the low 40s Fahrenheit (4–7 °C) in northern Florida to the mid-50s (â13 °C) in southern Florida.
The Florida Keys, being surrounded by water, generally have a more tropical climate, with lesser variability in temperatures. At Key West, temperatures rarely exceed 90 °F in the summer or fall below 60 °F in the winter.
Florida's nickname is the "Sunshine State," but severe weather is a common occurrence in the state. Central Florida is known as the lightning capital of the United States, as it experiences more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country. Florida has the highest average precipitation of any state, in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. A fair day may be interrupted with a storm, only to return to regular, gorgeous sunshine. These thunderstorms, caused by collisions between airflow from the Gulf of Mexico and airflow from the Atlantic Ocean, pop up in the early afternoon and can bring heavy downpours, high winds, and sometimes tornadoes. Florida leads the United States in tornadoes per square mile, but these tornadoes do not typically reach the intensity of those in the Midwest and Great Plains. Hail often accompanies the severest thunderstorms.
Snow is a rare occurrence in Florida. During the Great Blizzard of 1899, Florida experienced blizzard conditions for possibly the first time since explorers had arrived. During that time, the Tampa Bay Area had "gulf-effect" snow, similar to lake-effect snow. The Great Blizzard of 1899 is the only time the temperature in the state is known to have fallen below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (â18 °C). The most widespread snowfall in Florida history happened in February 1978, when snow fell over much of the state in different times of the month, as far south as Homestead. Snow flurries fell on Miami Beach for the only time in recorded history. 1982's "Cold Sunday," which saw freezing conditions throughout much of the country, ruined that year's orange crops. In 1989, a severe hard freeze created lots of ice and also caused minor flurries in sections of the state and resulted in rolling blackouts from power failures caused by massive demands on the power grid for heating. A hard freeze in 2003 brought "ocean-effect" snow flurries to the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Canaveral. [2].
Although some storms have formed out of season, hurricanes pose a threat during hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30. Florida saw a slew of destruction in 2004, when it was hit by a record four hurricanes. Hurricanes Charley (August 13), Frances (September 4–5), Ivan (September 16), and Jeanne (September 25–26) cumulatively cost the state's economy US$42 billion. In 2005, Hurricane Dennis (July 10) became the fifth storm to strike Florida within eleven months. Later, Hurricane Katrina (August 25) passed through South Florida and Hurricane Rita (September 20) swept through the Florida Keys. Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Florida in the early morning of October 24 as a Category 3 hurricane, with the storm's eye hitting near Cape Romano, just south of Marco Island, according to National Hurricane Center.
Florida was the site of the second costliest weather disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than US$25 billion in damage when it struck on August 24, 1992. In a long list of other infamous hurricane strikes are the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Donna in 1960, and Hurricane Opal in 1995.
See also: Catastrophic Florida hurricanes: 1900-1960, Catastrophic Florida hurricanes: 1961-present, and List of all-time high and low temperatures by state
[edit]
Environmental issues
Florida is the fifth-largest producer of greenhouse gases among the 50 U.S. states. This may coincide with the fact that Florida is the fourth most populous state in the United States. Climatologists and scientists debate whether global warming is to blame for an increase in the number of strong hurricanes. The scientists Peter Webster and Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology published research in 2005 showing an increase in global hurricane intensity, with a doubling of the number of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes since 1970. That increase coincides with a rise of nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit in ocean surface temperatures. They argue that there is a connection, while Florida's state climatologist, James O'Brien, argues the increase in stronger storms is merely part of a natural cycle.[3]
Other than fiercer hurricanes, global warming is predicted to have a number of destructive effects on Florida:
In fact, scientists have already observed changes in Florida consistent with the early effects of global warming: retreating and eroding shorelines, dying coral reefs, saltwater intrusion into inland freshwater aquifers, an upswing in forest fires, and warmer air and sea-surface temperatures.[4]
The greatest threat from global warming is a rise in sea levels. Much of Florida, being only a few feet above sea level now, would be underwater if the sea level rose dramatically due to the continued melting of glaciers, parts of the Antarctic ice shelf, or Greenland's cover of ice. Even a rise of less than a foot could mean "seawater will advance inland as much as 400 feet in low-lying areas, flooding shoreline homes and hotels, limiting future development, and eroding the state's beloved beaches."[5]
[edit]
History
Five of the flags that have been flown over Florida throughout the centuries.Main article: History of Florida
Archaeological finds indicate that Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous people, 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. From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida." (Juan Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida. At least one Indian that he encountered in Florida in 1513 could speak Spanish.[1]. Alternatively, the Spanish-speaking Indian could have been in contact with areas where Spanish settlements already existed, and Ponce de León was indeed the discoverer).
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 this fort was conquered by forces from the new Spanish colony of St. Augustine the following year. After Huguenot leader Jean Ribault had learned of the new Spanish threat, he launched an expedition to sack the Spanish settlement; en route, however, severe storms at sea waylaid the expedition, which consisted of most of the colony's men, allowing St. Augustine founder Pedro Menéndez de Avilés time to march his men over land and conquer Fort Caroline. Most of the Huguenots were slaughtered, and Menéndez de Avilés marched south and captured the survivors of the wrecked French fleet, ordering all but a few Catholics executed beside a river subsequently called Matanzas (Spanish for 'killings'). St. Augustine came to serve as the capitals of the British and Spanish colonies of East and West Florida, respectively. The Spanish never had a firm hold on Florida, and maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the local tribes, briefly with Jesuits and later with Franciscan friars. The local leaders (caciques) demonstrated their loyalty to the Spanish by converting to Roman Catholicism and welcoming the Franciscan priests into their villages.
The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English colonies to the north and French colonies to the west. The English weakened Spanish power in the area by supplying their Creek Indian allies with firearms and urging them to raid the Timucuan and Apalachee client-tribes of the Spanish. The English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times, while the citizens hid behind the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos. The Spanish, meanwhile, encouraged slaves to flee the English-held Carolinas and come to Florida, where they were converted to Roman Catholicism and given freedom. They settled in a buffer community north of St. Augustine, called Gracie Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first completely black settlement in what would become the United States. Great Britain gained control of Florida diplomatically in 1763 through the Peace of Paris (the Castillo de San Marcos surrendered for the first time, having never been taken militarily). Britain tried to develop Florida through the importation of immigrants for labor, including some from Minorca and Greece, but this project ultimately failed. Spain regained Florida after Britain's defeat by the American colonies and the Treaty of Paris, in 1783. Finally, in 1819, by terms of the Adams-OnÃs Treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the American renounciation of any claims on Texas. On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. On January 10, 1861, before the formal outbreak of the Civil War, Florida seceded from the Union; ten days later, the state became a founding member of the Confederate States of America. The war ended in 1865. On June 25, 1868, Florida's congressional representation was restored.
Until the mid-twentieth century, Florida was the least populous Southern state; however, the local climate, tempered by the growing availability of air conditioning, made the state a haven, and migration from the Rust Belt and the Northeast sharply increased the population. Economic prosperity combined with Florida's sudden elevation in profile led to the Florida land boom of the 1920s, which brought a brief period of intense land development before the Great Depression brought it all to a halt. Florida's economy would not fully recover until WWII. Today, Florida is the most populous state in the South besides Texas, and the fourth most populous in the United States.
[edit]
Demographics
Historical populations
Census
year Population
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1830 34,730
1840 54,477
1850 87,445
1860 140,424
1870 187,748
1880 269,493
1890 391,422
1900 528,542
1910 752,619
1920 968,470
1930 1,468,211
1940 1,897,414
1950 2,771,305
1960 4,951,560
1970 6,789,443
1980 9,746,324
1990 12,937,926
2000 15,982,378
[edit]
Race and ancestry
Florida Population Density Map White (non-Hispanic) 65.4%
Hispanic (of any race) 16.8%
Black 14.6%
Asian 1.7%
Native American 0.3%
Mixed Race 2.4%
More than 16 percent of Florida's population was Hispanic in the 2000 Census. The largest reported ancestries in the 2000 Census were German (11.8%), Irish (10.3%), English (9.2%), American (8%) and Italian (6.3%).[6]
Before the American Civil War, when slavery was legal, and during the Reconstruction era that followed, African Americans made up nearly half of the state's population[2]. Their proportion declined over the next century, as many moved north in the Great Migration while large numbers of northern whites moved to the state. Recently, the state's proportion of black residents has begun to grow again. Today, large concentrations of black residents can be found in northern Florida (notably in Jacksonville, Gainesville and Pensacola), the Tampa Bay area, and South Florida (where their numbers have been bolstered by significant immigration from Haiti and Jamaica).
Florida's Hispanic population includes large communities of Cuban Americans in Miami and Tampa, Puerto Ricans in Tampa and Orlando, and Central American migrant workers in inland West-Central and South Florida. The Hispanic community continues to grow more affluent and mobile: between the years of 2000 and 2004, Lee County in southwest Florida, which is largely suburban in character, had the fastest Hispanic population growth rate of any county in the United States.[7]
Whites of all ethnicities are present in all areas of the state. Those of British ancestry are present in large numbers in the coastal cities. There is a large German population in Southwest Florida, a sizeable and historic Italian community in the Miami area, and white Floridians of longer-present generations in the culturally southern areas of inland and northern Florida. Native white Floridians, especially those who have descended from long-time Florida families, affectionately referred to themselves as "Florida Crackers."
[edit]
Languages
As of 2000, 76.9 percent of Florida residents age 5 and older speak only English at home, while 16.5 percent speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 2.2 percent, followed by German at 0.6 percent and Italian at 0.4 percent.
Article II, Section 9, of the Florida Constitution provides that "English is the official language of the State of Florida." This provision was adopted in 1988 by a vote following an Initiative Petition.
[edit]
Religion
Florida is mostly Protestant, with a Roman Catholic community that is growing because of immigration. There is also a sizable Jewish community, located mainly in South Florida; no other Southern state has such a large Jewish population. Florida's current religious affiliations are shown in the table below:
Christian, 82%
Protestant, 54%
Baptist, 19%
Methodist, 6%
Presbyterian, 4%
Episcopal, 3%
Lutheran, 3%
Pentecostal, 3%
Other Protestant, 16%
Roman Catholic, 26%
Other Christian, 2%
Jewish, 4%
Other Religions, 1%
Non-Religious, 13%
[edit]
Government and law
Main article: Government of Florida
Florida CapitolPresidential elections results Year Republican Democratic
2004 52.10% 3,964,522 47.09% 3,583,544
2000 48.85% 2,912,790 48.84% 2,912,253
1996 42.32% 2,244,536 48.02% 2,546,870
1992 40.89% 2,173,310 39.00% 2,072,698
1988 60.87% 2,618,885 38.51% 1,656,701
1984 65.32% 2,730,350 34.66% 1,448,816
1980 55.52% 2,046,951 38.50% 1,419,475
1976 46.64% 1,469,531 51.93% 1,636,000
1972 71.91% 1,857,759 27.80% 718,117
1968 40.53% 886,804 30.93% 676,794
1964 48.85% 905,941 51.15% 948,540
1960 51.51% 795,476 48.49% 748,700
The basic structure, duties, function, and operations of the government of the State of Florida are defined and established by the Florida Constitution, which establishes the basic law of the state and guarantees various rights and freedoms of the people. The state government consists of three separate branches: judicial, executive, and legislative. The legislature enacts bills, which, if signed by the governor, become Florida Statutes.
The Florida Legislature is comprised of the Florida Senate, which has 40 members, and the Florida House of Representatives, which has 120 members. The current Governor of Florida is Republican Jeb Bush, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush and son of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. The Florida Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Justices.
A map of Florida showing county names and boundaries.Florida was traditionally a Democratic state; at one time, 68.5 percent of all Floridians were registered Democrats. In the last decades of the twentieth century, the realignment of the "Solid South" has led many conservative Democrats of Florida to vote with the Republican Party. This tendency, combined with explosive population growth, which has brought many Republicans into the state, has given Florida a Republican edge in practice, though registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans. As a result, Republicans control the governorship and most other statewide elective offices: both houses of the state legislature, 18 of the state's 25 seats in the House of Representatives, and one of the state's two Senate seats. The disputed 2000 Presidential election in Florida was extremely close. Because of the state's population and number of electoral votes, political analysts consider it to be a key swing state in presidential elections. The Tampa area, once a major center of Democratic union support, is now almost evenly split between registered Republicans and Democrats, making it part of the important I-4 Corridor swing region.
See also: List of counties in Florida, List of cities in Florida, List of Florida Governors, U.S. presidential election, 2000, in Florida, and U.S. presidential election, 2004, in Florida
[edit]
Economy
Launch of Space Shuttle Columbia from Kennedy Space Center.The gross state product of Florida in 2005 was $596 billion[8]. Personal income was $30,098 per capita, ranking 26th in the nation.
Florida's economy relies heavily on tourism. About 60 million visitors visit the state every year. Warm weather and hundreds of miles of beach attract vacationers from around the world. The Walt Disney World Resort, a mega-resort consisting of four theme parks, more than twenty hotels, water parks, shopping centers, and other attractions, is an important tourist attraction located in Lake Buena Vista. Together, Walt Disney World, and other theme park resorts such as Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld, are an important driver of the Central Florida economy.
Other major industries include citrus fruit and juice production, banking, and phosphate mining within the Bone Valley region. With the arrival of the space program at Kennedy Space Center in the 1960s, Florida has developed a sizeable aerospace industry. The state did not have a state minimum wage law until November 2, 2004, when voters passed a constitutional amendment establishing a state minimum wage and mandating that it be adjusted for inflation every six months.
The beach at Bahia Honda in the Florida KeysHistorically, Florida's economy was based upon cattle farming and agriculture (especially sugarcane, citrus, tomatoes, and strawberries). In the early 1900, land speculators discovered Florida, and Plant and Henry Flagler developed railway systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development and tourism that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland.
In 2004 and 2005, key industries along the west coast—commercial fishing and water-based tourist activities (sports fishing and diving)—were threatened by outbreaks of red tide, a discoloration of seawater caused by an efflorescence of toxin-producing dinoflagellates.
Florida is one of the nine states that do not impose a personal income tax (list of others). The state imposes a tax on "intangible personal property" (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, etc.), but in April, 2006, the state legislature was considering a repeal of the tax. [9] The state sales tax rate is 6% [10]. Local governments may levy an additional local option sales tax of up to 1.5%. A locale's use-tax rate is the same as its sales-tax rate, including local options, if any. Use taxes are payable for purchases made out of state and brought into Florida within six months of the purchase date. Other taxes are mostly levied on businesses. They include the following taxes: corporate income, communication services, intangibles, unemployment, solid waste, documentary stamps, insurance premium, pollutants, and various fuel taxes. For more information, visit the Florida Department of Revenue website at [11].
[edit]
Education
This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations.
Century Tower, University of Florida.Florida's public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education.
Florida's public-school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of personal income usually rank in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. states. Average teacher salaries rank near the middle of U.S. states.
Florida public schools have consistently ranked in the bottom 25 percent of many national surveys and average test-score rankings. Many education surveys are not scientific, but measure prestige. Governor Jeb Bush has been criticized by many Florida educators for a program that penalizes underperforming schools (as indicated by standardized tests, most prominently the FCAT) with fewer funding dollars. Supporters say the program's tough measures have resulted in vast improvements to the education system. Major testing organizations frequently discount the use of state's average test-score rankings, or any average of scaled scores, as a valid metric (for details on scaled test scores, see psychometrics).
In 2000, the governor and the state legislature abolished the Florida Board of Regents, which long had governed the State University System of Florida, and created boards of trustees to govern each university. As is typical of executive-appointed government boards, the appointees so far have overwhelmingly belonged to the governor's party. This effect has not been without controversy. [12] In 2002, former governor and then U.S. Senator Bob Graham (Dem.) led a constitutional-amendment ballot referendum designed to restore the board-of-regents system. Voters responded by creating the Florida Board of Governors; however, each university still maintains a Board of Trustees which work under this new, overseeing Board of Governors.
[edit]
Colleges and universities
The Green Library at Florida International University.
The Sun Dome at the University of South Florida.
Lake Osceola, University of Miami.
The Westcott Building, Florida State University.American InterContinental University South Florida Campus
Ave Maria University
Barry University
Bethune-Cookman College
Brevard Community College
Broward Community College
Carlos Albizu University Miami campus
Clearwater Christian College
Daytona Beach Community College
Eckerd College
Edison College
Edward Waters College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Flagler College
Flagler College - Tallahassee Campus
Florida A&M University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Christian College
Florida Coastal School of Law
Florida Community College at Jacksonville
Florida College
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Florida Keys Community College
Florida Memorial University
Florida Metropolitan University
Florida Southern College
Florida State University
Full Sail Real World Education
Gulf Coast Community College
Heritage College & Heritage Institute
Hillsborough Community College
Hobe Sound Bible College
Indian River Community College
International College
International Fine Arts College
Jacksonville University
Johnson And Wales University
Jones College
Keiser College
Lake City Community College
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Florida campus
Lake-Sumter Community College
Lynn University
Manatee Community College
Miami Dade College
New College of Florida
Northwood University
Nova Southeastern University
Okaloosa-Walton Community College
Palm Beach Atlantic College
Palm Beach Community College
Pasco-Hernando Community College
Pensacola Junior College
Pensacola Christian College
Polk Community College
Ringling School of Art and Design
Rollins College
Saint John Vianney College Seminary
Saint Leo University
Santa Fe Community College
St. Johns River Community College
St. Petersburg College
St. Thomas University
Seminole Community College
South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary
Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God
Stetson University
Stetson University School of Law
Trinity College of Florida
Troy State University Florida Region
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of West Florida
Valencia Comunity College
Warner Southern College
Webber College
See also: State University System of Florida and Florida Board of Governors
[edit]
Transportation
[edit]
Highways
Florida's interstates, state highways and U.S. Highways are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Florida's interstate highway system contains 1,473 miles (2,371 km) of highway, and there are 9,934 miles (15,987 km) of non-interstate highway in the state, such as Florida state highways and U.S. Highways.
Florida's primary interstate routes include:
I-4, which bisects the state, connecting Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, and Daytona Beach, having junctions with I-95 at Daytona Beach and I-75 at Tampa.
I-10, which traverses the panhandle, connecting Jacksonville, Lake City, Tallahassee and Pensacola, having junctions with I-95 at Jacksonville and I-75 at Lake City.
I-75, which enters the state near Lake City (45 miles west of Jacksonville) and continues southward through Gainesville, Ocala, Tampa's eastern suburbs, Bradenton, Sarasota, and Fort Myers to Naples, where it crosses the "Alligator Alley" as a toll road to Fort Lauderdale before turning southward and terminating in Hialeah/Miami Lakes having junctions with I-10 at Lake City and I-4 at Tampa.
I-95, which enters the state near Jacksonville and continues along the Atlantic Coast through Daytona Beach, Melbourne/Titusville, Palm Bay, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Port Saint Lucie, Stuart, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale before terminating in Miami, having junctions with I-10 at Jacksonville and I-4 at Daytona Beach.
Florida's secondary interstate routes include:
I-110, a spur from I-10 into downtown Pensacola.
I-175, which connects I-275 to southern downtown St. Petersburg.
I-195, an extension of Miami's Airport Expressway (S.R. 112); a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami Beach.
I-275, a sixty-mile (100 km)[13] westward loop from I-75 north of Ellenton, over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, through St. Petersburg, to Tampa International Airport and downtown Tampa, reconnecting with I-75 in Tampa's northern suburbs.
I-295, a partial beltway around Jacksonville that will loop completely around the city by 2007.
I-375, which connects I-275 to northern downtown St. Petersburg.
I-395, an extension of Miami's Dolphin Expressway (S.R. 836); a spur eastward from I-95 to Miami Beach.
I-595, which connects I-75, I-95, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades.
Florida has several toll roads, totaling 515 miles (830 km) of the state highway system. Major toll roads include:
I-75, as it passes through the Everglades between Naples and Fort Lauderdale has been grandfathered as a toll road from its original construction as S.R. 84
Florida's Turnpike, which begins at Interstate 75 south of Ocala and continues southeast through Orlando, Port Saint Lucie, and south through the western suburbs of Fort Lauderdale and Miami to Homestead
For more information about the myriad secondary toll expressways in Florida, see articles detailing roads maintained by the Florida Turnpike Authority, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.
[edit]
Intercity rail
In 2000, voters approved a constitutional amendment to construct a high-speed rail system to interconnect Florida's major cities. A committee was formed by the Florida Legislature to oversee the project; however, in 2004, Governor Jeb Bush and other lawmakers pushed for an amendment to remove the amendment, which succeeded. They stated that the cost would have been too high to construct the system, but proponents of the system said the claims regarding high cost were exaggerated and taken out of context, compared with the cost of building roads, maintaining automobiles, and so forth. The Florida High Speed Rail Authority, originally formed to implement the high-speed-rail amendment, has vowed to find a way to implement the system without the amendment.
Amtrak service exists in Florida: Sanford, in Greater Orlando, is the southern terminus of the Amtrak Auto Train, which originates at Lorton, Virginia, south of Washington, DC. Orlando is also the eastern terminus of the Sunset Limited, which travels across the southern United States via New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio to its western terminus of Los Angeles. Florida is served by two additional Amtrak trains (the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor), which operate between New York City and Miami.
[edit]
Public transportation
Public transportation systems exist in many major cities. Miami has an automated guideway people-mover system, as well as a 22-mile metro system, and most cities have bus service. In the South Florida Metropolitan area, train service is provided by Tri-Rail; this service has a southern terminus in Miami and a northern terminus in West Palm Beach. It has been proposed that the northern terminus be extended north as far as Stuart, but no progress has been made. Tri-Rail provides local bus service from its stations.
Greyhound provides commercial bus service between different cities in Florida.
[edit]
Airports
Florida's major international airports, which process more than 20 million passengers annually are Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport, and Tampa International Airport. Secondary airports, with annual passenger traffic exceeding 7 million annually include Jacksonville International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport (West Palm Beach), and Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers).
Other smaller, regional airports with commercial service include those at Daytona Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Gainesville, Key West, Melbourne,Naples, Panama City, Pensacola, Tallahassee. Orlando Sanford International Airport is primarily served by international charter airlines.
[edit]
Metropolitan areas
Distribution of Metropolitan Statistical Areas in FloridaFlorida has nineteen Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Thirty-eight of Florida's sixty-seven counties are in an MSA. Reflecting the distribution of population in Florida, Metropolitan areas in the state are concentrated around the coast of the peninsula. They form a continuous band on the east coast of Florida, stretching from the Jacksonville MSA to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA, including nearly every county on the east coast, with the exceptions of Flagler County and Monroe County. There is also a continuous band of MSAs on the west coast of the peninsula from the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA to the Naples-Marco Island MSA, including all of the coastal counties from Hernando County to Collier County. The interior of the northern half of the peninsula also has several MSAs, connecting the east and west coast MSAs. A few MSAs are scattered across the Florida panhandle.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas 2005 Population
Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area 549,442
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area 494,649
Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area 188,939
Gainesville Metropolitan Statistical Area 256,985
Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,277,763
Lakeland Metropolitan Statistical Area 541,840
Miami-Ft.Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area 5,422,200
Naples-Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area 317,788
Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area 304,926
Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area 1,861,707
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area
531,970
Panama City-Lynn Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area 161,721
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area 439,877
Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce Metropolitan Statistical Area
381,033
Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area 154,030
Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area 673,035
Sebastian-Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area 130,043
Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area 334,886
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area 2,589,637
[edit]
Important cities and towns
Miami
Fort Lauderdale
Tampa
Orlando
Jacksonville
St. PetersburgMain articles: List of cities in Florida and Florida locations by per capita income
City Population > 700,000
Jacksonville
City Population > 300,000
Miami
Tampa
City Population > 200,000
Hialeah
Orlando
St. Petersburg
City Population > 100,000
Cape Coral
Clearwater
Coral Springs
Fort Lauderdale
Gainesville
Hollywood
Miami Gardens
Pembroke Pines
Miramar
Port Saint Lucie
Pompano Beach
Tallahassee
City Population > 75,000
Boca Raton
Brandon
Davie
Deltona
Kendall
Lakeland
Miami Beach
Palm Bay
Plantation
Sunrise
West Palm Beach
City Population > 50,000
Boynton Beach
Bradenton
Daytona Beach
Deerfield Beach
Delray Beach
Fort Myers
Fountainbleau
Kendale Lakes
Kissimmee
Largo
Lauderhill
Margate
Melbourne
North Miami
North Miami Beach
Palm Coast
Palm Harbor
Pensacola
Sarasota
Spring Hill
Tamarac
Tamiami
Town 'n' Country
Weston
City Population > 25,000
Altamonte Springs
Aventura
Apopka
Bartow
Bonita Springs
Coconut Creek
Cooper City
Coral Gables
De Land
Dunedin
East Lake
Egypt Lake-Leto
Fort Pierce
Greater Carrollwood
Greenacres
Hallandale Beach
Homestead
Jupiter
Kendall West
Key West
Lake Magdalene
Lake Worth
Lauderdale Lakes
Lehigh Acres
North Fort Myers
North Lauderdale
Ocala
Ocoee
Oakland Park
Ormond Beach
Oviedo
Palm Coast
Palm Beach Gardens
Panama City
Pinellas Park
Plant City
Port Orange
Port Charlotte
Riviera Beach
Royal Palm Beach
Sanford
South Fort Myers
Titusville
University
Wellington
Westchester
Winter Haven
Winter Park
Winter Springs
[edit]
Professional sports teams
Club Sport League
Jacksonville Jaguars Football National Football League
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football National Football League
Miami Dolphins Football National Football League
Orlando Magic Basketball National Basketball Association
Miami Heat Basketball National Basketball Association
Tampa Bay Lightning Ice hockey National Hockey League
Florida Panthers Ice hockey National Hockey League
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Major League Baseball
Florida Marlins Baseball Major League Baseball
Orlando Predators Arena football Arena Football League
Tampa Bay Storm Arena football Arena Football League
Brevard County Manatees Baseball Minor League Baseball
Clearwater Threshers Baseball Minor League Baseball
Daytona Cubs Baseball Minor League Baseball
Dunedin Blue Jays Baseball Minor League Baseball
Fort Myers Miracle Baseball Minor League Baseball
Jacksonville Suns Baseball Minor League Baseball
Jupiter Hammerheads Baseball Minor League Baseball
Lakeland Tigers Baseball Minor League Baseball
Sarasota Reds Baseball Minor League Baseball
St. Lucie Mets Baseball Minor League Baseball
Tampa Yankees Baseball Minor League Baseball
Palm Beach Cardinals Baseball Minor League Baseball
Vero Beach Dodgers Baseball Minor League Baseball
Miami FC Soccer USL First Division
Ajax Orlando Prospects Soccer USL Premier Development League
Bradenton Academics Soccer USL Premier Development League
Central Florida Kraze Soccer USL Premier Development League
Cocoa Expos Soccer USL Premier Development League
Palm Beach Pumas Soccer USL Premier Development League
Bradenton Athletics Soccer W-League
Central Florida Krush Soccer W-League
Cocoa Expos Soccer W-League
Central Florida Strikers Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
Miami Surf Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
Orlando Falcons Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
Palm Beach United Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
South Florida Breeze Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
Tampa Bay United Soccer Women’s Premier Soccer League
Florida Everblades Ice hockey East Coast Hockey League
Florida Seals Ice hockey Southern Professional Hockey League
Jacksonville Barracudas Ice hockey Southern Professional Hockey League
Pensacola Ice Pilots Ice hockey East Coast Hockey League
Orlando, Florida (Name TBA) Basketball American Basketball Association
Palm Beach Imperials Basketball American Basketball Association
Pensacola Aviators Basketball American Basketball Association
Jacksonville Jam Basketball American Basketball Association
Tampa Bay Strong Dogs Basketball American Basketball Association
[edit]
Spring training
Florida is the traditional home for Major League Baseball spring training, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League." As of 2004, Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training:
Club Location
Atlanta Braves Walt Disney World
Baltimore Orioles Fort Lauderdale
Boston Red Sox Fort Myers
Cincinnati Reds Sarasota
Cleveland Indians Winter Haven
Detroit Tigers Lakeland
Florida Marlins Jupiter
Houston Astros Kissimmee
Los Angeles Dodgers Vero Beach
Minnesota Twins Fort Myers
New York Mets Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates Bradenton
Saint Louis Cardinals Jupiter
Tampa Bay Devil Rays St. Petersburg
Toronto Blue Jays Dunedin
Washington Nationals Viera
[edit]
Auto-racing tracks
Daytona International Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sebring Raceway
St. Petersburg Raceway
[edit]
State symbols
Orange blossoms.Nickname: "The Sunshine State"
State Motto: "In God we trust"
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Flower: Orange blossom - (Citrus sinensis)
State Insect: Zebra Longwing Butterfly [14]
State Song: "Old Folks at Home (Suwannee River)" by Stephen C. Foster
State Tree: Sabal Palm
State Reptile: American Alligator
State Animal: Florida Panther
State Marine Mammal: West Indian Manatee
State Saltwater Mammal: Dolphin
State Drink: Orange juice
State Fruit: Orange
State Shell: Horse Conch (The great band shell)
State Saltwater Fish: Sailfish
State Freshwater Fish: Florida Largemouth Bass
State Pie: Key Lime Pie
[edit]
See also
List of Florida bike trails
Scouting in Florida
The USS Florida was named in honor of the state.
State Agencies
Florida Department of Transportation
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Florida Highway Patrol
[edit]
References
^ Smith, Hale G., and Marc Gottlob. 1978. "Spanish-Indian Relationships: Synoptic History and Archaeological Evidence, 1500-1763." In Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period. Edited by Jerald Milanich and Samuel Proctor. Gainesville, Florida: University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-0535-3
^ [1]Historical Census Broswer at the University of Virginia (URL accessed 26 August 2006).
[edit]
External links
Find more information on Florida by searching Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Florida travel guide from Wikitravel
MyFlorida.Com - The Official Portal of the State of Florida
Florida Memory Project Over 300,000 photographs and documents from the State Library & Archives of Florida
U.S. Census Bureau
Florida Employment Data
Economic and farm demographics fact sheet from the USDA
Florida Maps & Satellite Image
State of Florida
Government | History | Floridians
Capital Tallahassee
Largest cities Cape Coral | Clearwater | Coral Springs | Fort Lauderdale | Gainesville | Hialeah | Hollywood | Jacksonville | Lakeland | Miami | Miami Gardens | Miramar | North Miami | Orlando | Pembroke Pines | Plantation | Pompano Beach | Port St. Lucie | St. Petersburg | Sunrise | Tallahassee | Tampa | West Palm Beach
Other notable communities Altamonte Springs | Apopka | Aventura | Boca Raton | Bonita Springs | Boynton Beach | Bradenton | Brandon | Coconut Creek | Cooper City | Coral Gables | Davie | Daytona Beach | Deerfield Beach | Delray Beach | Deltona | Dunedin | Fort Myers | Fort Pierce | Greenacres | Hallandale Beach | Homestead | Jupiter | Kissimmee | Lake Mary | Lake Worth | Lakeland | Largo | Lauderdale Lakes | Lauderhill | Margate | Melbourne | Miami Beach | North Lauderdale | North Miami Beach | North Miami | Oakland Park | Ocala | Ocoee | Ormond Beach | Oviedo | Palm Bay | Palm Beach Gardens | Palm Harbor | Panama City | Pensacola | Pinellas Park | Plant City | Plantation | Port Charlotte | Port Orange | Riviera Beach | Royal Palm Beach | St. Augustine | Sanford | Sarasota | Spring Hill | Sunrise | Tamarac | Temple Terrace | Titusville | Vero Beach | Wellington | Weston | Winter Haven | Winter Park | Winter Springs
Regions Central Florida | Emerald Coast | First Coast | Florida Panhandle | Florida Keys | Gold Coast | Nature Coast | North Central Florida | South Florida | Southwest Florida | Space Coast | Sun Coast | Tampa Bay Area | Treasure Coast | Walt Disney World
Counties Alachua | Baker | Bay | Bradford | Brevard | Broward | Calhoun | Charlotte | Citrus | Clay | Collier | Columbia | Dade | DeSoto | Dixie | Duval | Escambia | Flagler | Franklin | Gadsden | Gilchrist | Glades | Gulf | Hamilton | Hardee | Hendry | Hernando | Highlands | Hillsborough | Holmes | Indian River | Jackson | Jefferson | Lafayette | Lake | Lee | Leon | Levy | Liberty | Madison | Manatee | Marion | Martin | Miami-Dade | Monroe | Nassau | Okaloosa | Okeechobee | Orange | Osceola | Palm Beach | Pasco | Pinellas | Polk | Putnam | Santa Rosa | Sarasota | Seminole | St. Johns | St. Lucie | Sumter | Suwannee | Taylor | Union | Volusia | Wakulla | Walton | Washington
v·d·ePolitical divisions of the United States
States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Federal
district District of Columbia
Insular areas American Samoa | Guam | Northern Mariana Islands | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands
Minor outlying
islands Baker Island | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Palmyra Atoll | Wake Island
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida"
Categories: Articles lacking sources | Florida | 1845 establishments
ViewsArticle Discussion Edit this page History Personal toolsSign in / create account Navigation
Main Page
Community Portal
Featured articles
Current events
Recent changes
Random article
Help
Contact Wikipedia
Donations
Search
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Cite this article
In other languages
Anglo Saxon
اÙعربÙØ©
Asturianu
বাà¦à¦²à¦¾
ÐÑлгаÑÑки
CatalÃ
Äesky
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Îλληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
ÙارسÛ
Français
Gaeilge
GÃ idhlig
Galego
íêµì´
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
ÐÑонаÑ
Ãslenska
Italiano
×¢×ר×ת
á¥áá áá£áá
Kernewek
Latina
Latviešu
Lëtzebuergesch
Lietuvių
Magyar
ÐакедонÑки
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
æ¥æ¬èª
Norsk (bokmål)
Norsk (nynorsk)
Occitan
Oyghurque
Pampangan
Polski
Português
RomânÄ
Ð ÑÑÑкий
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
SlovenÄina
SlovenÅ¡Äina
СÑпÑки / Srpski
Srpskohrvatski / СÑпÑкоÑ
ÑваÑÑки
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
à¹à¸à¸¢
Tiếng Viá»t
Türkçe
УкÑаÑнÑÑка
ä¸æ
This page was last modified 19:20, 29 August 2006. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
hope this helps