I am constantly looking up Florida facts and details for my regional writing. Sometimes these little tidbits end up in my books. I compiled this list from a variety of resources:

• Florida was not acquired by the U.S. until 1821

• The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, the only tribe in America who never signed a peace treaty.

• The bridge to Keys was completed from 1909 to 1912. The Seven Mile Bridge, that crosses between Marathon and the Lower Keys, was built in 1982 – in pieces – then shipped to the Keys to be assembled.

• The railroad to Key West was completed in 1912.

• Key West has the highest average temperature in the United States.

• Founded in 1565, Saint Augustine is the oldest European settlement in North America.

• The name Punta Gorda, which means, “fat point” when translated from Spanish. The moniker was given to the city because a broad part of the land in Punta Gorda juts into Charlotte Harbor. The harbor itself is somewhat unique, as it is the point where the Peace River meets the ocean. (We have a sea-walled piece of property for sale there if you are looking to buy.)

• Orlando attracts more visitors than any other amusement park destination in the United States.

• The United States city with the highest rate of lightning strikes per capita is Clearwater, near Tampa, but it is also in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most days of sunshine.

• Young aviator Tony Jannus made history on January 1, 1914 when he flew the world’s first scheduled passenger service airline flight from St. Petersburg’s downtown yacht basin to Tampa.

• The Saint John’s River is one of the few rivers that flows north instead of south.

• Miami installed the first bank automated teller machine especially for rollerbladers.

• Nearly 80 percent of the states intake of sweet Atlantic white shrimp is harvested in Amelia Island waters. Two million pounds of shrimp are delivered to Fernandina docks annually.

• Florida has 2276 miles of tidal shoreline and about 4500 islands larger than 10 ACRES, and  663 miles of beaches.

• Greater Orlando is home to 71 skyscrapers. The Suntrust Building is tallest at 441 feet.

• Highway patrol officers lose their bonuses if they are more than 15 pounds overweight.

• There are 52 million annual visitors to Walt Disney World Resorts.

• There are more than 400,000 hotel rooms and 37,000 restaurants in the tri-county area (Orange, Osceola and Seminole) , 144,125 of the hotel rooms are in Orlando.

• Key West has more bars per capita than any other location in the country.

• The deepest river in the world, reaching 90 feet of depth and only nine miles is the New River. It was named by native Americans the New River because at one time it flowed underground.

• Florida produces half the United State’s winter vegetables.