Ch. 18 Hawaii

Florida like Hawaii are known for beautiful beaches, tourism, beautiful weather and surfing. Florida’s history of surfing actually started in the early 1930’s with a few Virginia Beach lifeguards, namely John Smith and Babe Braithwait, renting concession stands at the beaches and demonstrating the sport with Hawaiian surfboards [1]. 

 

 

 

Cocoa Beach, home to six-time World Champion Kelley Slater and Ron Jons, the world's most famous surf shop which receives 2 million visitors a year. Cocoa Beach is also home to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.

Florida unveils their bronze tribute to surfing's Champ10n of champions, Mr. Kelly Slater

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Ch. 16 The North Pacific Coast

The North Pacific Coast has the greatest average annual precipitation on the continent. The precipitation average of 600 cm is more than twice of any other area (except Hawaii) in the United States or Canada. Like The North Pacific Coast, Florida also receives a lot of precipitation in large part because afternoon thunderstorms are common in most of the state from late spring until early autumn. 

The biggest difference between the North Pacific Coast and Florida is in it's topography. While the North Pacific Coast offers a land of mountains and breath taking views, Florida is very flat and lacks many mountains and is around sea level.
 

Ch. 15 California

This chapter discusses California. California is much different than Florida in many ways including the weather, the topography and the hazards that it's residents face. Florida is know for Hurricanes and California is famous for it's earthquakes. California does not experience any hurricanes due to the surface temperature of the Pacific ocean being very cold during the whole year. California residents face the daily fears of the possibility of an earthquake. California is home to a fault line called the San Andreas fault which is responsible for the majority of the earthquakes including small ones that are common to very large ones that are not as common but when they strike can cause major damage throughout.

[1] The San Andreas Fault has had some notable earthquakes in historic times:

• 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake: About 217 miles (349 km) were ruptured in central and southern California. Though it is known as the Fort Tejon earthquake, the epicenter is thought to have been located far to the north, just south of Parkfield. Only two deaths were reported. The magnitude was about 7.9.
• 1906 San Francisco earthquake: About 267 miles (430 km) were ruptured in Northern California. The epicenter was near San Francisco. At least 3000 people died in the earthquake and subsequent fires. This time the magnitude was estimated to be 7.8.
• 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake: About 25 miles (40 km) were ruptured (although the rupture did not reach the surface) near Santa Cruz, California, causing 63 deaths and moderate damage in certain vulnerable locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moment magnitude this time was about 6.9. The earthquake also postponed game 3 of the 1989 World Series at Candlestick Park. This quake occurred on October 17, 1989, at approximately 5:04 P.M. PDT.
• 2004 Parkfield earthquake: On September 28, 2004, at 10:15 A.M. PDT, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck California on the San Andreas Fault.

Earthquake Damage to San Francisco 1906

Earthquake Damage to San Francisco 1906

 
Earthquakes are such a big concern for California that one of the most visible impacts is the skyline of California's big cities like Los Angeles. Due to Earthquake laws there is a limit to how tall the buildings can be built. Thankfully for California, breakthroughs in structural design and materials have now paved way to larger construction. Today many Californians still have belief in the "The Big One". The big one refers to an Earthquake of larger magnitude of a 7.0. Researchers believe that due to the extended time without major seismic activity from the San Andreas that tremendous stress is forming and that one day that stress will give and we will have the big one.

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Ch. 14 The Southwest border area

One of the major topics of discussion in this chapter is immigration and how it has had an impact on the southwest border. This is also true for Florida. Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro, a large Cuban exodus began as the new government allied itself with the Soviet Union and began to introduce communism. The tables below show how the major destination of choice after fleeing Cuba was Florida.

Before the 1980s, all refugees from Cuba were welcomed into the United States as political refugees. This changed in the 1990s so that only Cubans who reach U.S. soil are granted refuge under the "wet feet, dry feet policy". While representing a tightening of U.S. immigration policy, the wet foot, dry foot policy still affords Cubans a privileged position relative to other immigrants to the U.S. This privileged position is the source of a certain friction between Cuban Americans and other Latin citizens and residents in the United States, adding to the tension caused by the divergent foreign policy interests pursued by conservative Cuban Americans. Cuban immigration also continues with an allotted number of Cubans (20,000 per year) provided legal U.S. visas [1].
 


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Ch. 13 The Empty Interior

The Empty interiors dry region is dependent on projects that will divert water from different rivers in order to get proper irrigation for it's crops. Without these projects it would not be possible to grow crops in the region and the agriculture that dominates the interior would not exist. Florida shares some of the Empty Interior water problems. Although Florida receives abundant rainfall they depend on drawing water from wells faster than they can recharge it naturally. One of the main problems is caused by Florida's flat topography and being unable to construct large reservoirs hence the need to drill and create wells. The inability of the rainfall to recharge the water table due to development in Florida results in the land loosing support from the water table which then causes large sinkholes. The Farmers in Florida consume about half of the water supply for agriculture of sugar cane (can require lots of water) and citrus.

Damage to a house in Florida that was cause by sinkhole

 To prevent the abundant waste of water Florida's water management has enacted year round water conservation and limitations to use. There's also major campaigning to try to reduce the over use of water in an effort to try and restore some of the water table.

The Organization has also implemented new incentives and has offered a award for water conservation implementation. Projects that use technology to implement water conservation are under consideration for funding through this program. Award recipients are reimbursed for up to 50 percent or up to $50,000, whichever is less, of the actual total project. Types of projects that have received funding in previous years include automatic line flushing devices for hydrants, indoor plumbing retrofits, large area irrigation controls, and soil moisture and rain sensor technology for irrigation systems [1].


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Ch. 12 The Great Plains and Prairies

The Great Plains and Prairies share similarities with Florida as in that they share Tornado alley. As seen below the Great Plains and Prairies and Florida share a more common threat of Tornadoes. No other region in the United States shares this similarity.

The clash of the contrasting air masses that are characteristic of the Great Plains create these powerful hazards that are capable of enormous amounts of damage.

Ch. 11 The Agricultural Core

The agricultural core is characterized by adequate rainfall with little annual variability, coupled with ample growing seasons, which makes the region a good place to grow corn and other crops. Although, Florida is not part of the Agriculture core, Florida is still productive in agriculture and shares some of the benefits of a longer growing season. Florida's is famous for being a large citrus producer mainly oranges and grapefruit. In 2008 Florida had 47,500 commercial farms, utilizing 9.25 million acres to continue to produce a variety of food products [1].

As shown above, Florida has multiple products besides oranges and grapefruit including Livestock, field crops, a forest industry, seafood, etc. Florida farmers produces crops that are grown in few parts of the United Sates and Canada. 

 

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Ch. 10 The Southern Coastlands

The Southern Coastlands is a subtropical and humid place that appeals to many travelers and retirees that seek beautiful beaches and the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters. Florida makes up the majority of the Southern Coastlands.

Fig 10.1 The Southern Coastlands.

Winter freeze is a threat many Florida farmers face when growing crops in the Southern Coastlands. Fooled by the mild winters that Florida is known for they sometimes underestimate the occasional mid-winter frost that cause major damage to crops and have considerable financial loss.

Icicles cling to oranges

 

 

The biggest threat Florida faces yearly are Hurricanes and the large amount of damage they can cause.  Of all the recorded hurricanes to hit the U.S. since 1851, 36 percent have made landfall in Florida. A look at the paths of the major hurricanes (category 3 and higher) that have passed through the state. The most affected counties are in the shaded area [1].

Fig 10.3 Hurricane Hazard Zones.

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The Changing South

Florida got a slow start when it came to European settlers establishing a successful settlement due to the constant attacks from indians and Florida's hurricanes. On March 3, 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. Shortly after, White settlers began to establish cotton and sugar cane plantations in Florida, which required numerous laborers. By 1860 Florida had only 140,424 people, of whom 44% were enslaved. There were fewer than 1000 free African Americans before the Civil War. 

Lynchings and other racial crimes. 

After World War I, there was a rise in lynchings and other racial violence directed by whites against blacks in the state, as well as across the South and in northern cities. It was due in part from strains of rapid social and economic changes, as well as competition for jobs. Whites continued to resort to lynchings to keep dominance, and tensions rose. White mobs committed murders, accompanied by wholesale destruction of black houses, churches and schools, in the small communities of Ocoee, November 1920; Perry in December 1922; and Rosewood in January 1923.

Road to Recovery

The 1920s were a prosperous time for much of the nation, including Florida. Florida's new railroads opened up large areas to development, spurring the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Investors of all kinds, mostly from outside Florida, raced to buy and sell rapidly appreciating land in newly platted communities such as Miami and Palm Beach. Led by entrepreneurs Carl Fisher and George Merrick, Miami was transformed by land speculation and ambitious building projects into an emerging metropolis. A growing awareness in the North about the attractive south Florida winter climate, along with local promotion of speculative investing, spurred the boom.

Florida and it's economy today. 

Today Florida relies on are international trade, tourism, space program, fishing, mining and agriculture to stay economically strong without the aid of slavery.

Florida and Religion today.

As of the year 2000, the three largest denominational groups in Florida are Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, and Mainline Protestant. Florida is mostly Protestant, but Roman Catholicism the single largest denomination in the state.

Built in 1832, this is one of the oldest Protestant churches in Florida.

 

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A Varied Topography? Really? Not in Florida....

According to Chapter 8 the Appalachian mountains' rugged landscape played a major role in the settlement history of the US. The mountains were a barrier to early overland travel form the Atlantic coast and it stated that without those barriers European settlements may have spread inland more thinly and more quickly.
Well It's a good thing they didn't decide to settle in Florida since NO such barrier would of kept them from wondering in too quickly. As stated in earlier sections Florida lacks major topographic changes and lacks elevation overall. The Average Elevation found in Florida is a lousy 98 ft which which is just a tad shorter than the elevations we find in the Appalachians such as 3200 ft with many steep slopes.
Almost all the southeastern peninsula and the entire southern end are covered by the Everglades, the world's largest sawgrass swamp, with an area of approximately 5,000 sq mi (13,000 sq km). The Everglades is, in a sense, a huge river, in which water flows south–southwest from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. No point in the Everglades is more than 7 ft (2 m) above sea level. Its surface is largely submerged during the rainy season—April to November—and becomes a muddy expanse in the dry months. Slight elevations, known as hammocks, support clumps of cypress and the only remaining stand of mahogany in the continental US. To the west and north of the Everglades is Big Cypress Swamp, covering about 2,400 sq mi (6,200 sq km), which contains far less surface water.

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The Bypassed East

The Bypassed East as described by chapter 7 had topographical changes, varying climates from seldomly hot, to often cold and damp, Lots of forests, fishing and mineral production.
Florida for the most part can account for the majority of these characteristics but fails to meet all of the characteristics like varying topography and varying climates.
Florida lacks topographical changes due to the fact that the lowest point is sea level and the highest point is only 345 ft high, Florida for the most part is pretty flat.
As far as climate is concerned Florida does receive rain fall but it's mainly considered tropical rainfall and doesn't last long. Florida has a subtropical climate with generally warm temperatures and sufficient precipitation all year. Average January temperatures vary throughout the state with an average in Jacksonville of 64ºF and in Miami of 73ºF. The average July temperature is 91ºF in Jacksonville and 87ºF in Miami. So not very cold like the Bypassed East.

Florida has a rich variety of mineral and forest resources. The two leading mineral products of the state are phosphates and petroleum.

Florida's forests provide a variety of softwood and hardwood trees. More than 14 million acres are classified as commercial forestland. The estimated growth of trees on this land is over 15 billion cubic feet of wood. About half of the commercial forestland is owned by private companies. The Division of Forestry operates 35 state forests covering more than 650,000 acres.

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The North American Manufacturing Core

Florida may not be part of the North Manufacturing core but it produces a variety of products ranging from fishing, sugar cane, and fruits and vegetables.

Florida's water resources support a strong fishing industry. There are more than 400 or so fish processing and wholesaling plants in the state that help employ nearly 5,000 people annually. More than 100 million pounds of fish and other seafood are caught each year by Floridas fishers, producing a total catch worth more than $207 million. Also, Florida also harvests a variety of seafood such as lobsters, shrimp, clams, and grouper.

Another great product that Florida grows is sugar cane. Palm Beach County accounts for approximately 75 percent of the commercial sugarcane acreage in Florida and 75 percent of the total harvested sugarcane tonnage in Florida. The remainder of Florida's commercially produced sugarcane is grown in Hendry, Glades, and Martin counties. These counties–along with Palm Beach County–are all adjacent to Lake Okeechobee, which is the northernmost portion of the historic Florida Everglades system. This area of commercial sugarcane production is so compact, most visitors to the Sunshine State never see a commercial sugarcane field.

The muck soils of the Everglades are rich in nitrogen and support vigorous cane growth. Nitrogen-rich soils, in combination with the favorable South Florida climate, can sometimes lead to excessive sugarcane growth, which results in large stalks, but with reduced sugar content.

An aerial view of commercial sugarcane fields near Belle Glade, FL

Sugar Cane

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Megalopolis

The South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S. Office if management and budget is the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States and the eighth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States, encompassing a tri-county area on the southeastern coast of the US state of Florida. The metropolitan area covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. The three counties are the three most populous in Florida. The term South Florida is roughly synonymous with Gold Coast. The principal cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.

Beautiful Night Shot of Down Town Miami.

Census data

 As discussed in Chapter 4, High quality harbors of what came to be Megalopolis were located close to the most direct sea route from the Caribbean to northwestern Europe. Florida is a prime example of this great feature that helped it become a largely populated area.

Foundations of Human Activity

The history of Florida can be traced back to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. Recorded history begins with the arrival of Europeans to Florida, beginning with the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon who explored the area in 1513. Since that time Florida has had a long history of immigration, including French and Spanish settlement during the 16th century, as well as entry of new Native American groups migrating from elsewhere in the South. Florida was under colonial rule by Spain and Great Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries before becoming a territory in 1822 of the United States. Two decades later, in 1845, Florida was admitted to the union as the 27th US state. First permanent European settlement is established in 1565 in St. Augustine by Spain.

Juan Ponce De Leon

 

According to the 2005 census, the racial distributions are as follows; 60.1% White, 17% African American, 2.1% Asian American, 1.4% others (American Indian), and the remaining 18% are Hispanics or Latino (of any race, but mostly white).

Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro, a large Cuban exodus began as the new government allied itself with the Soviet Union and began to introduce communism. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba and began a new life in the United States.

As you can see below most Cubans mainly fled to Florida. In the 1990s so that only Cubans who reach U.S. soil are granted refuge under the "wet feet, dry feet policy".

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Geographic Patterns of the Physical Environment

Florida is coordinates are Latitude 24° 27′ N to 31° 00' N and Longitude 80° 02′ W to 87° 38′ W. Florida's total area is ranked as the 22nd largest in the U.S. with a total of 65,755 sq. miles. The Length is 447 miles and 361 miles wide. As far as elevations are concerned the highest point lies in Lakewood Park at an elevation of 345 ft and it's lowest point is the Atlantic ocean which is at sea level (0 ft.). Florida is called the sunshine state due to long hot summers and relatively mild winters. Florida is considered to be humid subtropical and receives considerable amounts of rain yearly. Average Precipitation from 1961-1990  One of Florida's most well known geographic features would have to be it's beautiful beaches. Florida has a total of 1,197 Statute Miles of coast land, Tidal Shoreline - 2,276 Statute Miles of tidal shoreline and a total of 663 Miles of beaches.
Beautiful Napa Beach in Florida. Makes you wish you were there.... The Florida Native Plant Society has attempted to classify the natural vegetation of Florida but so far has only been able to focus on about 12 main areas due to the various ecosystems and varying climate that are present in Florida. The following are only a handful of the many diverse types of vegetation that can be found in Florida. Sarracennia purpuria Tarflower cypress, tupelo, black gum, andor pop ash   Source source 2

Florida's Regions

Florida is located in the southeastern United states located near the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean.  Florida's regions are divided into eight different regions.

Florida's 8 Regions

Northwest Region:  Florida’s Great Northwest, a regional economic development organization, serves 16 counties in Northwest Florida from Pensacola through Tallahassee.  The Northwest region works to diversify the economic base and to create high-wage jobs. By doing so the region benefits from a highly skilled labor force of roughly 680,000. The Target industries are Aviation, Aerospace, Defense and National Security. This region is also a big innovator in renewable energy, research and Engineering.

North Central Region:  The North Central region is home to the University of Florida, the largest and most research-intensive university in Florida. This area has an abundance of natural resources and the intermodal transportation corridors facilitate global exchange. This region also has two of Florida’s major interstate hwys as well as multiple rail systems and airports throughout the region.

North East Region:  With more than 1.5 million residents, the seven-county Northeast Florida region offers a growing market  for relocating and expanding companies Home to three Fortune 500 companies and 80 other corporate, regional and divisional headquarters.  

Tampa Bay Region:  The Tampa Bay Region offers multiple seaports and airports create a cost competitive logistics and distribution network offering access to the global economy.  This region is home to the University of South Florida and thus offers a talented workforce.

East Central Region:  Stretching from Central Florida to the Space Coast, the East Central region generates a significant portion of Florida's technological advances and experienced fast economic growth in the last decade. Home to some of the world’s best and brightest companies, including Rockwell Collins, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the world headquarters of Harris Corporation, the region’s well-educated workforce is more than 1.6 million strong.

South Central Region: The South Central region enjoys a natural and relaxing environment with the benefit of easy access to multiple metropolitan areas, international airports and deep seaports. With its centralized location, the region is ideal for manufacturing and product distribution. The South Central region encompasses six counties proud of their competitive cost of doing business and affordable living.

Southeast Region:  Southeast Florida is home to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Sebastian-Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie metropolitan areas. The Southeast region provides easy access to international markets, particularly to Latin America, via several international airports and deep-water seaports.

Southwest Region:  Located on the Gulf shores of Florida, the Southwest region is comprised of Charlotte, Collier and Lee Counties. Some 600+ technology businesses call this region home, as do many retail, tourism and healthcare industry outfits. 

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