Travel

Florida

Florida is an ideal vacation destination with pristine beaches and warm waters that surround the peninsula. Florida's Emerald Coast and the Pensacola Bay Area are renowned for their fishing opportunities and beaches, while the Big Bend Area presents a wide variety of recreational activities. The Tampa and Sarasota Bay areas feature a large variety of resort accommodations and family vacation activities, much like Greater Orlando, which is known as the home of Disney World and Universal Studios. Miami is the jewel in Florida's crown, offering a wealth of cultural attractions, though Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches also offer miles of beachfront. For the astronaut in your family, a trip to Cape Canaveral, home of the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, from which numerous spacecraft are launched.

Much of the state of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Straits of Florida. It extends to the northwest into a panhandle, extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico, and is bordered by Georgia and Alabama. Florida is situated near several Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas and Cuba. Florida is one of the largest states and only Alaska and Michigan are larger in water area.

Florida has a humid subtropical climate, though cold fronts can occasionally bring high winds and cool to cold temperatures to the entire state during late fall and winter. The seasons in Florida are actually determined more by precipitation than by temperature with mild, relatively dry winters and autumns and hot, wet springs and summers. The Gulf Stream has a moderating effect on the climate, and although much of Florida commonly sees a high summer temperature over 32°C, the temperature seldom exceeds 38°C. Mean high temperatures in July range from 32 to 35°C while January can bring lows from 4 to 7°C.

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