Florida
Geography
- a state in the South-East
- capital: Tallahassee
- borders: in the North: Alabama and Georgia
- in the East: the Atlantic
- in the West: Golf of Mexico
- the peninsula Florida has an area of 170 313 km²
- highest spot is 105 m over sea level at the border to Alabama
- coastline: 2173 km
- from every point in florida - only 100 km to next coast
- Florida is a part of the atlantic coastplaine
- the ground consists of limestone- and sandstonelayer
- because of wear of waves, wind and rain àFlorida is mainly flatland
- only forur big rivers - all in the northern of Florida:
- the Apalachicola, Suwannee, St. John and the Escambia
- there much rivers more but most of thembe caused by break out the earth surface - and so some rivers can be flow for a strech underground
- in the North you can find more than thousand springs, bacause of the pressure in the ground
- region round Tallahassee is flatland with pineforest
- western from it: the Marianna lowplain with one special: mussellinelayer
- around the altlanticcoast are coral reefs, bays, sand dunes, peninsulas and islands situated
- in the South are the Florida Keys, the Marquese Keys and Dry Tortugas, which are thousand little island along the coast
- in the East of te Keys is the last living coral reef
- the biggest lake is the Okeechobee, wich is called "Big Water"
- es ist der drittgrößte Süßwassersee in den USA
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- even you find swampland like the Everglades and the Big Cypress Garden
- it´s about 6000 km²
- most is entwässert to field or land for new buildings and projects
Climate
- in most regions of Florida is subtropical climate
- the southsummit and especially the little southern islands have chance humide climate
- annual average temperatre: in the North-West round Tallahessee: 20°C
- in the South-East round Fort Lauderale 25°C
- Above all in the South of Florida are hurricans
- Like in 1992: 41 people were killed and 160 000 homeless when hurrican Andrew came
- material damage amount to 20 billion Dollar
Nature/Animals
- 35 % from the whole area are covered up with forest
- in Florida you can find 314 different kind of trees
- most native are famous because her ricness of colours
- symbolflower: orangeflower
- tree of the state: Sabaspalm
- in the North: pines, tuliptrees, maple trees, Azaleen, Oleander, Hibiskus and Jasmin
- in the centre: cypresses, Florida Hickories, oak trees and Magnolien
- in the South: cocopalm, kingspalm, liveoaktrees, west-indish mahogony and especially at the coast cabbagepalm
- in the swampland and the Everglades: fern, orchid, Lianen
- animals:
- most animals are extinct, live in danger or are disappeared
- like 90 % of the birds..but still live more than 400 kinds
- àfisheagle, storcks, gooses, beachrunner, pelicans, seagulls and migratories
- also wild animals who live in danger like: blackbears, greyfoxes, panther and another kind of wildcats
- because of their skin many otters and minks were killed
- in a big number live deers, squirrels, wils boar, oppossum, hares and Waschbären
- nearly extinct: Seekuh and turtle
- alligators on crocodiles live reserve in the Everglades
- former their skin was process to textilies too
- in the waters live round 700 different kinds if fish like trout and werch
- but next to them you even can find frogs, lizards, rattlesnakes, and many other kinds of snakes
Economy and Industry
- Floridas most important row materials are lime, crude oil and phosphat à the state meet the demand for the USA with 80 %
- more woe materials: natural gas, sulpur and other chemical stuffs
- the most important deliver for products of agriculture àlemonfruits and oranges
- the industry process things for electric, automobiles and precisionintruments
Population, Education and Culture
- 13 Mio inhabitants
- average population density: 76 people / km²
- 80 % whites, 10 % blacks, 10 % Hispanics
- nearly 35000 Indians and 31000 people from Asia and Cuba
- share of persond above 60 years is 18 % - that is ecause Florida is the popular state for old people
- altogether 95 colleges and university with nearly 480 000 students
- state highschools and universities: University Florida, the Bethune-Cookman College (found 1904) in Daytona Beach, the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and the University of Jacksonville
- a significant museum: the Museum of Natural History in Gainesville which posses archaeology discoveries
- an important collection of european and american painting you can find in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota
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