Florida

Florida is a southeastern US state occupying a long peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, famed for its beaches, theme parks and subtropical climate. Its capital is Tallahassee, while Jacksonville and Miami anchor its largest metro areas. Nicknamed the Sunshine State, it is a magnet for tourists and retirees.

Florida is low and flat, fringed by hundreds of miles of beaches and barrier islands, with the vast Everglades wetlands in the south and the Florida Keys trailing into the Gulf. The climate is subtropical to tropical, warm year-round, and the state is prone to hurricanes.

Florida is highly diverse, with strong Hispanic and Caribbean influences, especially Cuban culture in Miami. Tourism defines much of its identity, from Walt Disney World in Orlando to South Beach nightlife, alongside a major space-industry presence on the Atlantic coast.

Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s, founding St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the country. Florida became the 27th state in 1845 and grew explosively in the 20th century through tourism, agriculture and migration.