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LA FLORIDA-"FEAST OF FLOWERS" DISCOVERED AND NAMED BY SPANISH
EXPLORER PONCE DE LEON IN HIS QUEST FOR THE " FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH"
IN 1513. FLORIDA BECAME A U.S. TERRITORY IN 1821 AND IN 1846 WAS THE
25TH STATE ADMITTED TO THE UNION.
• STATE BEVERAGE: ORANGE JUICE FROM ORANGES, NUMBER-ONE CASH CROP. FLORIDA PRODUCES ABOUT 75% OF U.S. ORANGES AND PROVIDES 40% OF THE WORLD'S SUPPLY
• STATE GEM: THE MOONSTONE BECAME OFFICIAL IN 1970, AFTER THE FIRST MOONWALK.
• STATE SONG: STEPHEN FOSTER'S NOSTALGIC BALLAD "OLD FOLKS AT HOME",(SUWANNEE RIVER) BECAME OFFICIAL IN 1935. He never set foot in Florida and never saw the Suwanee River except on a map. He and his brother were looking for the name of a river that would fit in the song he was writing, and they just went through the names on a map until they decided "Way down upon the S'wanee River" sounded best.
• STATE ANIMAL:THE FLORIDA PANTHER, SELECTED BY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN 1982.
• STATE BIRD: THE MOCKING BIRD BECAME OFFICIAL IN 1927.
• STATE FLOWER: THE ORANGE BLOSSOM BECAME OFFICIAL IN 1909.
• STATE TREE: THE SABAL PALM.
• FLORIDA'S NICKNAME : "THE SUNSHINE STATE".
• FOURTH IN POPULATION AFTER CALIFORNIA, TEXAS AND NEW YORK
• TOTAL AREA 58,560 SQUARE MILES 22ND LARGEST U.S. STATE
• WIDTH EAST TO WEST- 361 MILES NORTH TO SOUTH-447 MILES
• HIGHEST POINT- 345 FEET IN WALTON COUNTY- THE PANHANDLE
• AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE- SUMMER:81.6(F) WINTER 62.8(F)
• MORE THAN 11,000 MILES OF WATERWAYS, 663 MILES OF BEACHES, 2276
MILES OF TIDAL SHORELINE AND ABOUT 4500 ISLANDS LARGER THAN 10 ACRES
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