Florida became the 27th state in the United States on March 3, 1845. It was named by Ponce de Leon who claimed the area he thought was an island for Spain. The name Florida comes from Pascua Florida which means "Feast of Flowers" at Easter time. Florida is commonly known by its official nickname: The Sunshine State. Of course, it earned that name by its excellent weather and favorable climate.

The capital of Florida is Tallahassee. The capital is not the largest city in Florida, it is the eighth largest city. The flag of Florida is a white background with a large red "X" going from corner to corner. The state seal is a circular picture in the middle on which one can see a bright sun, a cabbage palmetto tree, a steamboat, and a Seminole Indian woman spreading flowers. It is supposed to represent sunshine, rivers and lakes, flowers, and the history of the state. T

There are 31 state forests and 158 state parks in Florida. A famous National Park, the Everglades National Park, extends over a large part of southern Florida. It is home to rare wildlife, fish, and bird species, and many tourists go there to travel around in air-boats and see the sights. It is a protected area now because of the endangered environment.

The most interesting thing about Florida is the tourism. People love Disney World, cruise ships, visiting the space center Cape Canaveral, and water sports. So much money is made from tourism that residents of Florida do not have to pay state and local taxes like residents of other states do. The bad thing about Florida is that it tends to get hit by Hurricanes which do a lot of damage. People rebuild, though, which means they must love the state enough to risk another hurricane.

The geography of Florida shows that a large part of the state is covered by water. Nearly 12,000 square miles of the state are covered by water making it the third wettest state in the United States. The highest point in Florida is not even a mountain, it is a hill called Britton Hill in Lakewood. It is only 345 feet above sea level. The lowest point in the state is sea level at the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Major rivers in Florida are the St. Johns River, the Suwannee River, and the St. Mary's River. Major Lakes are Lake Okeechobee and Lake George. The weather in Florida is generally not extreme. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in the state range from -2 F to 109 F, but the average monthly temperatures range only from about 40 F to about 92 F. Many people flock to Florida because of the sunny winter with temperatures around 70 degrees. It gets hot and humid in the summer, but almost never snows in the winter.

Florida is in the South-Eastern part of the United States. It is a peninsula and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other side. The peninsula extends south from Georgia and Alabama and the tip almost touches Cuba. At the lowest end of Florida are the Florida Keys, a chain of small islands. Key West is a popular tourist destination and is known for its partying. Cruise ships go there and tourists can see the marker that says that it is only "90 miles to Cuba."

he steamboat represents a part of Florida's history, in fact the state song of Florida is "Suwannee" about a famous river in Florida. The fla

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1649
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)