Florida Facts For Kids | The Sunshine State

Florida may seem different to different people; for some it’s a paradise whereas for others the state is a place to enjoy sun-drenched breaches, mysterious swamps, deep forests, and warm water. It is an ideal place for people like to live in hot weather. Florida is a peninsula which means that it is circled by water.

Paleo-Indians are thought to have inhabited the land of Florida some fourteen thousand years ago as they were also the first settlers of America. Ponce de Leon was the first European explorer to set his foot in Florida in 1513.

Florida Facts For Kids

The length of the Florida’s coast measures around 1,350 miles (2,172 kilometers).

The nickname of Florida is ‘Sunshine State.’

If you’re looking for hills and valleys, best visit Central Florida which is home to beautiful small lakes. Nearly all orange trees grow in Florida.

Tallahassee is the capital city of Florida.

Jacksonville is the largest city of Florida.

The land area of Florida covers 65,758 square miles (170,313 square kilometers).

Florida is ranked as the 22nd largest state.

Britton Hill is the highest point while Atlantic Ocean is the lowest point.

It is situated in between Alabama and Georgia.

The world’s smallest police station is in telephone booth in Panhandle town, Florida.

Jacksonville car wash was abandoned in November 1987 because it claimed to be America’s only ‘nude car wash’.

The city of Tampa (Florida’s city) was once thought to have captured by pirates once a year.

Pinellas is the most densely populated county of Florida as it serves 3,317 people per habitable square mile.

Palm Beach County is the largest county of Florida by area. It covers the land of 2,578 sq. miles. The smallest county by area is Tiny Union County situated southwest of Jacksonville (North Florida) covering only 245 sq. miles.

Flagler County is the only country that saw 163 percent population increase between 1980 and 1990.

The Palm Beach is Florida’s wealthiest county with per capita income of 41,007.

The Miami Canal is the longest canal of Florida as it runs 81 miles from Lake Okeechobee to Miami.

Florida’s biggest springs are in Silver Springs (Marion County), with a flow averaging 823 cubic feet/second.

Lake Okeechobee is the Florida’s largest freshwater lake covering 730 square miles (1,900 sq. kilometers). It is home to many water birds and fish.

Four Seasons Hotel is the tallest building in Florida. The 70-story building is situated in downtown Miami.

Bayshore Boulevard in Miami is the world’s longest sidewalk.

The world’s longest conga line is at Miami’s Calle Ocho festival. It is a busy street with 119,986 people lined up dancing on March 1988. It made the Guinness Book of World Records.

Sabal Palm is the Florida’s tallest tree with the height of 90 feet. The state tree is in Highland Hammocks State Park.

The largest tiger shark ever recorded at 1,065 pounds was caught in 1981 near Miami Beach.

Two divers in North Florida broke the world record of diving deep into the cave as the two descended 7,685 feet in the cave of Manatee Springs. The event took place in February 27, 1987.

In Florida, the first phone exchange opened was in Jacksonville.

The word ‘Beach’ is found in almost all the Florida city names.

Manatee is the only county in Florida being named after animal.

Miami International Airport is the Florida’s busiest airport.

Florida is the third biggest state in the supply of cattle—home to two million cows.

More Interesting Florida Facts For Kids

The Vehicle Assembly Building is the world’s largest scientific building with the length measuring 716 feet, width 518 feet, with the height measuring 525 feet. The building has 4 bays each of which is 460 feet high. They claim to be the world’s largest doors. It is located in John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Tampa’s Columbia is the America’s largest and oldest Spanish restaurant.

The Panama City Beach has the longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico with the length of 1,642 feet. The pier was built in 1978.

Wekiva Falls’ “Big Well” is the world’s largest flowing well. It pumps 72 million gallons of water each day—enough for every Floridians to flush the toilet once.

Wakulla Springs is one of the deepest wells in the world.

The Panama City Beach claims to have the most beautiful beach in the world.

The smallest post office of America is in Ochopee (western Everglades).

Merritt Island is the Florida’s largest island encompassing 25,945 acres. The island is in Brevard County.

The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest forest of Florida covering 557,000 acres or more than 870 sq. miles.

Each year in April, a great many number of people gather around at Perdido Beach to throw mullets.

When the visitors entered in Florida back in 1987, they came across an official state highway sign that said, ‘Welcome to Floirda”. No one took notice of wrong spellings until it was already up.

The population of this land is 19,552,860 as of 2013.

The coral reefs in the waters of Florida are as old as 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. The reefs are the primary source of supplying food and breeding areas to animals and plants dwelling there.

Florida is home to many beautiful birds including vultures, jay, woodpeckers, crow, robin bird, geese, crows, and cardinals.

The warm weather of Florida serves as an ideal place for animals fancy living in hot weather. These animals include snakes that bite such as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. However, alligator once existed in large numbers in the 19th century has gone extinct in Florida.

Did you know? | Florida Facts For Kids

That Florida has 663 miles of beaches and more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and water ways and that the first widely used suntan cream was invented in Florida. Florida has got a long list of official state symbols, the main ones are:

  • State Flower – Orange blossom
  • State bird – Northern mockingbird
  • State tree – Sabal Palm

Florida is the fourth most populous state, in the USA, after California, Texas and New York. Golfers love Florida. In fact, many professional golfers call Florida home. We have many golf courses in Florida than any other state in the country.

Florida favorites

When in Florida, you can swim with dolphins in the Discovery cove. If you want to play side by side with the sea, then Aquatica, Seaworld’s Waterpark is the place to be.  If you visit with the world class coasters and Serengeti safaris, then Busch Gardens Tampa will be your destination. There is also an adventure island water park in Tampa which I know you will love to visit, it is next to Busch Gardens.

Florida the social studies project

A visit to Florida is a giant social studies project – one filled with fun that you will greatly enjoy the place. There are no dinosaurs in Florida! When dinosaurs were on prawl, Florida was still underwater so they never invaded it. But Florida is where sharks originated. At Venice, Florida, also referred to us a shark tooth capital of the world, there are plenty of shark fossils. I know you will love them.

Sports

I bet you are a lover of sports. If you love baseball then I am sure you will enjoy being in Florida. Fifteen major league baseball teams do their spring training here.

Scouting in Florida

Are you a boy scout or a girl scout? Then its time to put those badges to use! Millions of people do camp in Florida every year. There are so many outdoor activities going on in Florida especially at the Adventure Camps at Seaworld and Busch Gardens – no gators in site. Am sure you are all smiles at this good news. 

Orange Juice

Orange juice is the official state beverage of Florida State. This is because Florida State produces an average of 135 million oranges every year. So if you happen to be an orange lover, this will be a haven for you.

The Giant Adirondack chair

This chair will serve you right in case during your vacation at Florida State, you happen to feel tired. Your whole family can have a quite time sitting on the giant Adirondack chair. It is such a giant chair, built in 2012 complete with steps so that you can climb onto its seat for photos. It is the world’s largest chair. Be the first one among your friends to sit on it. It stands next to Highway 98, in Mexico beach, Florida.

Learn more: Florida Facts For Kids

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