Geography of Florida

Florida occupies a peninsula that extends roughly 500 miles south from the Georgia border into the warm waters between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Its geography is unlike any other US state — flat, water-rich, and subtropical to tropical.

The Peninsula is the defining feature. Florida is surrounded by water on three sides — the Atlantic to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the west, and the Florida Straits to the south. No point in Florida is more than 60 miles from a saltwater body.

The Florida Keys extend 125 miles southwest from the southern tip of the peninsula, curving toward Cuba. This chain of coral islands is connected by the Overseas Highway, which runs 113 miles over 42 bridges. Key West, the southernmost city in the contiguous US, sits at 24.5°N latitude — south of Cairo, Egypt.

The Everglades cover about 1.5 million acres of South Florida — the largest subtropical wilderness in the US. The Everglades is a slow-moving sheet of freshwater flowing south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. It supports alligators, crocodiles, Florida panthers, manatees, and hundreds of bird species.

Lake Okeechobee is the second-largest freshwater lake entirely within the US at 730 square miles. Its average depth is only about 9 feet — it's an enormous but very shallow lake. Surrounding it is the Everglades Agricultural Area, where sugarcane dominates.

The Panhandle is the northwestern strip of Florida that extends west along the Gulf Coast. It has a distinctly different character from peninsular Florida — more Southern in culture, with cooler winters and the brilliant white quartz-sand beaches of Destin and Pensacola.

Springs: Florida has more than 700 freshwater springs, many with crystal-clear water at a constant 68°F. Rainbow Springs, Silver Springs, and Ichetucknee Springs State Park are among the most stunning.

Topography: Almost entirely flat. The highest natural point (Britton Hill, 345 feet) is in the Panhandle. Central Florida has a series of low ridges and thousands of freshwater lakes. South Florida is essentially at sea level, with large areas that flood seasonally.