In our part one of Interesting and Fun Facts about Florida, you learned some quirky truths surrounding our popular Sunshine State, such as the fact that there are no dinosaur fossils to be found; we are the epicenter of theme parks worldwide; we are known for being the #1 supplier of voluptuous, bright and juicy oranges in the US; we have the highest number of golf courses in any state and our official reptile is the American alligator, but there is still more to learn about. We’re back to give you a little whirlwind insight into Florida and what goes on here.
From a couple of our previous subjects, it’s been clear that Florida’s climate is its most important natural resource and has a rather big role to play in the popularity of our state. However, it’s not all sunshine and heat, which is why we’re going to get straight to the point of our first interesting (and somewhat scary) Florida fact:
In our part one of Interesting and Fun Facts about Florida, you learned some quirky truths surrounding our popular Sunshine State, such as the fact that there are no dinosaur fossils to be found; we are the epicenter of theme parks worldwide; we are known for being the #1 supplier of voluptuous, bright and juicy oranges in the US; we have the highest number of golf courses in any state and our official reptile is the American alligator, but there is still more to learn about. We’re back to give you a little whirlwind insight into Florida and what goes on here.
From a couple of our previous subjects, it’s been clear that Florida’s climate is its most important natural resource and has a rather big role to play in the popularity of our state. However, it’s not all sunshine and heat, which is why we’re going to get straight to the point of our first interesting (and somewhat scary) Florida fact:
Subtropical Climate
Famously, Florida is warm and sunny, but the reality is that we get plenty of disaster weather as well springing from various geographical elements. Anything from thunderstorms to lighting, and tornadoes to hurricanes are experienced all year round. Tornadoes typically come about throughout the late spring and early summer months, and hurricane season runs from June to the end of November. Though the summers are hot, afternoon thunderstorms are expected on around half of the season’s days and provoke a drop in temperature of 10 to 20 degrees, making for a more endurable climate come evening time. From December to February, our winters are mild with occasional cooler air, with January being the coldest month.
While our proximity to the currents of the Atlantic oceans and the Gulf of Mexico play an important role in Florida’s climate, the primary factors that affect it are the latitude and numerous inland lakes across the state. Interestingly, during the winter months, the coastal areas experience warmer temperatures, whereas during the summer months the temperatures become cooler.
Boating and Fishing Capital of the World
Avid anglers absolutely love Florida as a fishing and boating destination, and there really are plenty of reasons why. You guessed it, our subtropical climate is of course a huge factor that makes Florida an ideal fishing destination. The water temperatures are moderate to warm, so the fish species thriving in them are more active which is ideal for sport fishing. Florida is home to many recreational boating and fishing infrastructures thanks to the ample access to diverse habitats and fish species, as well as saltwater and freshwater. Our state is graced with thousands of miles of tidal shorelines, lakes and rivers and these bodies of water have countless varieties of fish species for all levels of anglers.
The overall fantastic resources are well managed throughout the state, making it the top destination for boating and fishing, not only in the US but worldover. Our very own Destin is named as the “Luckiest Fishing Village in the World”. Click here to check out our Fort Walton & Destin Fishing Guide!
FYI: Florida’s official state freshwater fish is the Largemouth bass, a carnivorous fish that thrives in vegetation rich freshwaters and is a popular gamefish.
Discovery of the Region
If you’ve ever wondered how Florida came about and why it was given its particular name, here’s the story behind that: it begins with the Spanish conqueror Juan Ponce de León, who spotted and sailed to the peninsula in 1513 in search of gold and silver. Though he didn’t find any, he found an abundance of fertile farmland and coastline. Ponce de León originally named the region La Florida. It is believed that the choice of name was representative of the floral and green landscape and also, because around that time the Spanish celebrated their Easter season which is called Pascua Florida (in English meaning Flowery Festival or Feast of Flowers).
Latino Culture and Influence
Hispanic influence in Florida dates back over 500 years. Remember we told you about Juan Ponce de León? Long after he first landed on the southeastern peninsula, several more Spanish explorers established settlements in Florida and now, centuries later, the Sunshine State certainly lives up to its heritage. Particularly in Miami, where they even joke that “living here is almost like living in the United States”, due to its heavy influence of Cuban culture. In fact, Spanish is the predominant language and English isn’t spoken by everyone. As of the 2020 US census, 26.2% of Florida’s population is made up of hispanic and latino races, with most of them residing in Miami, also referred to as the Capital of Latin America.
What drives Cubans to migrate to Florida primarily is the state’s proximity to Cuba. Past political events have also promoted waves of Cuban influx, including Fidel Castro’s extreme dictatorship in Cuba from 1976 to 2008. Nowadays, the city of Miami thrives with latino culture, through festivals, restaurants offering authentic flavors of Cuban cuisine, shops, museums and theaters. La Little Havana is a popular Cuban-american neighborhood where you can experience vibrant and colorful life on the Latino side.
By now you’re probably feeling pretty Florida savvy, thanks to our Interesting and Fun Facts. If you haven’t already, we hope you won’t wait too long before visiting our Sunshine State. And when you do, we recommend you make your way up to to Destin and Fort Walton, where you’ll find a ton of cool activities to do, including at our very own Crab Island Watersports on Okaloosa Island, where you can enjoy an exciting day afloat on one of our Pontoon boats.