Florida. A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It was admitted as the 27th state on 3 March 1845. The peninsula was explored by Juan Ponce de León in 1513 and became the center of a Spanish settlement that included the southeast part of the present-day United States. Spain finally ceded the area in 1819. Tallahassee is the capital and Jacksonville the largest city. Population: 19,057,542 (July 2011)
State Flower: Orange Blossom - State Motto: In God we trust - State Nickname: Sunshine State - State Bird: Mockingbird
