1. The Sunshine State Rachel Toney

2. History Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida in 1513 landing Northeast Florida. (St. Augustine) Juan Ponce de Leon claims Florida for Spain. The first European settlement is established in 1565 in St. Augustine by Spain. William P. Duval was Florida’s first civil governor. Florida was admitted as a state on March 3, 1845 as the 27 th state.

3. Basic Facts Capital City: Tallahassee Largest City: Jacksonville City Guides: Florida City Guides Neighbor States: Alabama & Georgia

4. Simple Facts Neighbor States: Alabama & Georgia 67 counties 4th in U.S. population behind California, Texas & New York Population: 19,552,860

5. Simple Facts Cont. Florida covers 58,560 square miles of area. 4,298 square miles are water. The nation’s oldest city is St. Augustine.

6. Industries Tourism Agriculture – Oranges – Grapefruit – Tomatoes Electronics

7. Natural Resources Lumber Clays Limestone Sand gravel Phosphate Peat Mineral sands Lime deposits

8. Major Rivers St. Johns Rivers St. Mary's Rivers Suwannee River

9. State’s… Motto: “In God we trust” Song: “Swanee River” Nickname: The Sunshine State

10. Animal Symbols Mockingbird Florida Panther Manatee Porpoise/Dolphin Alligator Zebra longwing butterfly Sailfish Largemouth bass Horse Conch

11. Plant Symbols Orange blossom Coreopsis Palmetto Palm

12. Earth Symbols Eupatagus Agatized Coral Moonstone

13. Top 10 Populations 1. Jacksonville 827,908 2. Miami 408,750 3. Tampa 346,037 4. St. Petersburg 244,997 5. Orlando 243,195 6. Hialeah 229,969 7. Tallahassee 182,965 8. Fort Lauderdale 168,528 9. Port St. Lucie 166,149 10. Pembroke Pines 157,594

14. Most Populous Metro Areas 1. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach 2. Tampa, St.Petersburg, Clearwater 3. Orlando, Kissimmee 4. Jacksonville

15. Did You Know? 1,000 people move to Florida each day There are 19 commercial airports and 12 international. There are 14 deepwater ports

16. Did You Know Cont. There are 1,200 miles of sand beaches 1,800 miles of coastlines Famous for beaches

17. State for golfing 1,250 Golf courses Florida has more golf courses than any other state. Palm Beach County has more golf courses than any other county in the country.

18. Weather & Seasons The sunshine state is known for its “Sunshine”. Summer – 80.5 degrees - North Florida – 82.7 degrees – South Florida Winter – 53.0 degrees North Florida – 68.5 degrees South Florida

19. Top 10 Attractions 1. Clearwater Marine Aquarium 2. The Ringling 3. Everglades Holiday Park 4. Discovery Cove 5. Magic Kingdom 6. St. Augustine Historic District 7. Seashells of Sanibel Island 8. Salvador Dali Museum 9. Castillo de San Marcos 10. Beaches of Daytona Beach

20. Famous Residents Pat Boone (Singer)

21. References www.50states.com http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/state s/florida/ http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/state s/florida/ http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/Deskto pDefault.aspx?tabid=95 http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/Deskto pDefault.aspx?tabid=95 www.usatoday.com http://www.apples4theteacher.com