Florida Facts for Kids

Our Florida Facts for Kids provide interesting and fun facts about the biggest state of the United States of America, the country and people, attractions and geographical superlatives and all important facts about Florida you really should know.

Florida Facts for Kids

Top 30 Florida Facts | USA

1. First, Florida is not a country, but a state of the United States of America and is located in the Southeast of the USA. The largest part of the state is on a peninsula and surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

2. Florida borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and is the only US state to do so. However, note that the Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and part of the Atlantic Ocean! Florida has the second longest coastline of any US state with 13,576 km/ 8,436 miles.

3. Florida borders the two US states of Alabama and Georgia which are located to the north of the peninsula's "panhandle". The nearest countries off the Florida coast are Cuba and the Bahamas.

Map of Florida

4. Florida is the third most populous state of the United States of America but is only about one fifth of the size of Texas or three times smaller than California.

5. About 22 million people live in Florida. The majority of the people in Florida live along the Atlantic coastline as well as along the coast of the Golf of Mexico.

6. Florida Facts for Kids: Florida is roughly the same size as Iraq or slightly smaller than Morocco or a bit smaller than Austria and Germany combined. - However, Austria and Germany combined have a population of more than four times the population of Florida!

Tallahassee

7. Florida's capital is called Tallahassee. The state capital is located in the Northern part of the state in a region referred to as the 'Florida panhandle'. Tallahassee has about 200,000 inhabitants and is the eighth largest city in Florida.

8. Jacksonville is Florida’s largest city and the most populous city of the state. The city has about one million inhabitants.

Miami sunset

9. Miami in the South of the state is the largest metropolitan area and houses about 6.2 million inhabitants.

Florida Facts for Kids
Geography

10. The Florida peninsula is a limestone plateau and located on the eastern side of the Florida plattform, the state's main geological feature.

11. The limestone rocks in Florida contain many minerals including phosphate and potash. Phosphate and potash are mainly used in fertilisers and animal feed. Florida is the largest phosphate producer in the USA.

12. Florida is the flattest of all US states and known for its white sand beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Among the most popular Florida beaches are Miami Beach and neighbouring South Beach, Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach as well as the stunning Florida Keys beaches.

Long sandy beaches in Florida

13. Florida is affected every year by strong winds and hurricanes that develop over warm ocean waters. Also rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten many of the states most beautiful sites.

14. Hurricane season in Florida lasts about six months from 1 June to 30 November. Unfortunately all of the regions in Florida have been hit by hurricanes at least once in the last 150 years, however, the Southeastern parts of the state as well as the region of the panhandle experience the most frequent and most violent hurricanes. Hurricanes develop over tropical ocean waters. Rising sea levels caused by climate change also threaten many of the states most beautiful sites.

Florida Facts for Kids
Geography Superlatives

15. Jacksonville is Florida’s largest city and the most populous city of the state. The city has about one million inhabitants. By land area, Jacksonville is also the largest city in the contiguous USA.

- Contiguous means the land area of the 48 states of the USA that is not separated by ocean or other countries from the mainland of the USA such as Alaska is.-

16. The highest point of Florida is Britton Hill with 105 m/ 345 feet. This is the lowest of all highest points of all the US states and Florida is the flattest of all US states!

17. The longest river in Florida is the St. Johns river, which is 500 km/ 310 miles long and flows in the eastern parts of the state. The river mouth is in Jacksonville.

St Johns River at Jacksonville

18. The largest freshwater lake in Florida is Lake Okeechobee. This is also the second largest lake in the contiguous USA - after Lake Michigan. Florida has about 30,000 lakes of which most are located in Central Florida.

19. The Florida reef is the only coral barrier reef of continental USA. This barrier reef is located to the South of the Florida Keys. More than 40 species of stony corals and an abundance of fish and marine animals live in this reef which is among the largest in the world.

Florida Facts for Kids
Name and State Symbols

20. Florida was named by Spanish explorer Ponce de León in 1513. The name "Florida" comes from the Spanish word "florido," which means "full of flowers".

21. The state has the nickname: "The Sunshine State". The motto of the state is: "In God we trust".

22. The Florida flag is white and a red cross with the Florida seal in the centre.

Flag of Florida

23. The official state animal of Florida is the Florida panther, the state bird is the American flamingo and the orange blossom is the official state flower.

Orange blossom

24. Florida is the 27th state of the USA and gained statehood in 1845 under President John Tyler.

Florida Facts for Kids
Florida People

25. Natives have lived and moved through Florida for at least 12,000 years. The Seminole and Miccosukee people are native to Florida, but Florida has the second fewest natives residents of any state of the USA.

About 23% of the people living in the state were born outside the USA. Most of the immigrants originally come from Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Jamaica.

Florida is considered a retirement paradise and about 20% of all residents are older than 65 year of age.

26. Florida is home to people of all different ethnic groups, different religions. 60% of the Florida residents say they are Christians, most of them Protestants.

27. English and Spanish are the most spoken languages in Florida. Almost 20% of the people speak Spanish as home language.

Florida Facts for Kids
Economy

28. Among the most important industry sectors of Florida are tourism as well as aerospace and aviation and agriculture. Citrus fruits as well as meat (beef) are the main agricultural products in Florida.

Almost two thirds of the state are used for farming.

More Facts about Florida for Kids

29. Florida Facts | Famous Landmarks: Among the most visited tourist sites and landmarks in Florida are:

Florida Disneyworld - image by ViavalTours / shutterstock.com

Entrance to Disney World

Disney World - fantasy entertainment and amusement parks - This is said to be the world's largest single-site employer!
Florida Keys - string of islands connected by bridges off the southern coast of Florida

Pelicans in Key West

Everglades - rich wildlife, aligators and birds. The national park is home to the endangered leatherback turtles and West Indian manatees as well the state animal, the Florida panther.

Everglades

Miami - beaches, art deco districts, Wynwood walls, Bayside Market
Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral - space center and visitor complex

Cape Canavaral

30. Florida Facts | Time Zones:

Florida has two time zones (UTC-6:00/-5:00). The western part is on Central Time (UTC -6:00) while the Eastern parts observe Eastern Time (UTC -5:00). Florida also adheres to daylight saving time during the warmer summer months from second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November.

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Useful Resources for Florida Facts

This page was last updated on 7 October 2022.

United States Census. "Quick Facts: Florida" USCensus. Last accessed 7 October 2022
Florida Tourism. "Family-friendly Beaches." VisitFlorida. Last accessed 7 October 2022

Image Credits on Florida Facts page: Shutterstock.com and wikipedia commons

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