Florida Facts

South Florida Facts

Florida’s population (2012) is 19,552,860, ranking behind only California, Texas and New York. Florida has 1,800 miles of coastline and more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways. Florida has approximately 4,500 islands larger than ten acres (only Alaska claims more in the U.S). Lake Okeechobee, which covers 700 square miles, is the second largest freshwater lake in the United States. There are more than 1,250 golf courses in Florida (more than any other state). Palm Beach County has more than any other county in the country and is also Florida’s largest county.

The Florida State Flower is the Orange Blossom and in 1967 the Florida legislature designated orange juice as the official state beverage. The Florida State Bird is the Mockingbird (designated 1927), not the flamingo. Although the flamingo may be more exotic to study, the mockingbird is a year-round resident of Florida and a superb songbird. The state saltwater mammal is the porpoise and the state shell is the horse conch.