Florida is the largest peninsula of the USA. Its peculiar shape yields a coastline of well over 2000 km. This
and an agreeable subtropical climate explains why the Sunshine State is so popular among tourists and retirees, despite
the occasional hurricane barreling down.
The landscape is mainly flat and lies at about see level.
Typical Floridian animals
living in the Everglades Park are Alligator, Crocodile, Manatee and the very rare Florida Panther.
In 1992 Hurricane Andrew destroyed
a reptile breeding center and set free hundreds of juvenile Burmese Pythons.Together with privately released pet pythons, this snake,
that can grow to up to 7 meters, has now become the local top predator.
Paleo-Indians have lived in Florida well before 12000 BC, first Europeans explored the
area as early as 1500 AD, as shown on the Cantino Map.
Spain established at foothold in 1513 and ruled, (with a small British
interruption) till 1821 when they ceded the territory to the United States.
The
Seminole Wars ended in 1858 with the deportation
of the few remaining Indians.
In the
Civil War Florida sided with the Confederacy.
Its location relatively close to the equator makes
Cape Canaveral the preferred
launch site for the US space program.
