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Central Florida

Coordinates: 28°55′37″N 81°43′17″W / 28.92694°N 81.72139°W / 28.92694; -81.72139
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 173.50.106.27 (talk) at 14:39, 25 February 2012 (→Major Airports: Tampa is not a Central Florida airport). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the geographic region. For the university in Orlando, see University of Central Florida. For that university's athletic program, see UCF Knights.
Central Florida
Central Florida

Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively.[clarification needed]

Although agreement on the exact boundaries of 'Central Florida' can vary, the region is generally considered to be Orlando and its surrounding suburbs, including Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard, and Volusia counties. Polk, Flagler, and Sumter counties are often included in Central Florida demographics and are primarily served by Orlando media outlets.

Geography

Counties west of The I-4 (Interstate-4) corridor are geographically in Central Florida, however they are considered part of the Tampa Bay Area or the Suncoast. This includes the city of Tampa and it's surrounding suburbs around Tampa Bay: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties.

The central cities of both metropolitan areas (Orlando and Tampa) are in close proximity (85 miles (137 km)), and as a result, their two metropolitan areas blend together in the area of Lakeland to make up a larger contiguous population center often referred to as the I-4 corridor.[1][2] This is a population concentration that stretches from Tampa Bay on the west coast to Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral on the east coast of the state.

Emphasizing it's position as "halfway" down Florida, is the presence of two East-West roads that are half-way down Florida's numbering system, State Road 50 and State Road 500.

With the exception of hill terrain in Southern Lake County, Central Florida is mostly flatland's with significant amounts of open space and over 1,500 lakes and ponds. There is a mixture of wetlands, Cypress forests, pastures, and coastline.[3]

Major rivers include the St. Johns River, the Ocklawaha River, the Halifax River, and the Econlockhatchee River. Major lakes include Lake Apopka, Lake Tohopekaliga, East Lake Tohopekaliga, Lake Louisa, Lake Monroe, Lake Jessup, and the Butler Chain of Lakes.

There are over 100 miles (160 km) of coastline in Central Florida along the Atlantic Coast.[4] Major beaches include Canaveral National Seashore, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Florida, and Indiatlantic Beach near Melbourne, FL.

Climate

Hurricanes are a threat to the coastal cities as evident by the 2004 hurricane season, which brought three major hurricanes to the Central Florida area; Charley, Jeanne, and Frances.

Winters are dry and temperate with the average winter high temperature in Orlando being 72 °F (22 °C).[5][6] Summers are hot and humid with high temperatures averaging 92 °F (33 °C). Peak summer heat generally arrives in early June and continues to early October.[7][8]

The combination of high temperatures, high humidity, and opposing sea breezes from both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, results in significant thunderstorm activity from July to September for the interior counties. Central Florida records more lightning strikes per area than any other region in Florida, and Florida records more lightning strikes than any other state in the USA. As a result, Florida, and more specifically, Central Florida, is often referred to as the "Thunderstorm capital of the USA".[9][10]

These severe thunderstorms often make Central Florida prone to many tornadoes. However, they are usually small, short lived, and almost always rated as EF0 or EF1 size storms.

Population

In 2009, the estimated total population of the Central Florida region was 3.3 million people.[11] This includes the populations of Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, and Lake Counties. If the populations of Polk, Flagler, and Sumter counties were included, the estimated population would be 3.969 million people. Explosive growth has fueled Central Florida for the past thirty years, but this trend plateaued in 2009.[12]

Below are the populations from the Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, Florida, Combined Statistical Area (CSA), Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Flagler, and The Villages.[13]

Population over 200,000

Population 50,000 to 100,000

Population 25,000 to 50,000

Brevard County, which is considered by many locals to be part of Central Florida (although not included in the CSA) includes Titusville (between 25,000-50,000), Melbourne (between 50,000-100,000) and Palm Bay (over 100,000). Polk County, which is part of the television market (but not in the CSA), includes Winter Haven and Lakeland (50,000-100,000).

Infrastructure

Major Airports

Major international airports include:

Major Highways

Limited Access Freeways and Expressways:

Major Surface Arterials:

Rail

Amtrak serves Central Florida running on CSX Transportation's A line and stops at the Orlando Amtrak Station. The Auto Train stops in Sanford, Florida, north of downtown Orlando.

Seaports

Port Canaveral, located in Cape Canaveral 45 minutes east of Orlando, is a cruise, cargo, and naval port. It is one of the busiest ports in Florida and is economically tied to Orlando. Locally perceived to be Orlando's seaport, Port Canaveral is the closest port for tourists and Orlando residents alike to cruise on Disney Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruises. Future plans for the port include a rail and natural gas line running directly to Orlando International Airport.

Commuter & High Speed Rail

Central Florida is currently developing a regional commuter rail network. The first of these initiatives, SunRail, is a commuter rail line that will run from Deland south to Kissimmee. The first phase should be complete by 2013 with the full system in place by 2015.

A High Speed Rail line was in the planning stages at one point during the years of 2009-2011, however, that plan was eventually canceled by the Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, after a cost analysis of the project. The train line had been planned to run from the Orlando International Airport to downtown Tampa; with future lines eventually connecting to downtown Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami.[14]

Attractions

Theme Parks

Other major attractions include Kennedy Space Center, Bok Tower Gardens, Daytona International Speedway, The Holy Land Experience, and Gatorland. Central Florida also has a wide variety of natural attractions including the Wekiwa Springs State Park, Blue Spring State Park, Rock Springs Run State Reserve, Canaveral National Seashore, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The region also boasts an extensive network of recreational trails (jogging, biking, equestrian, etc.). While many connections are already in place, construction continues and will link all of the trails and greenways. Major trails include the Cady Way, Cross Seminole and West Orange Trails.

Zoos

Central Florida has two major zoo, the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, in Sanford,[15] and the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay animal park. Minor zoos include the Brevard Zoo.

There are also two theme parks in Orlando featuring animals: Disney's Animal Kingdom and SeaWorld Orlando.

Culture

The traditional southern culture is found primarily in the northern, rural sections of Central Florida; mainly Polk County, Volusia County, Lake County, and pockets of Orange County. The culture dominated by urban living and national and international migration is primarily in Orlando and its surrounding suburban areas.

Cultural attractions in Central Florida include The Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Science Center, Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre and Orange County Regional History Center; all of which are located in downtown Orlando. The Cornell Fine Arts Museum and Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art are located in Winter Park, just north of downtown Orlando. The Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Daytona International Speedway, home to NASCAR, are located in Daytona Beach.

Films shot in the area include Parenthood, My Girl, Monster, Apollo 13, Armageddon, Instinct, and The Waterboy.[16]

Economy

Tourism is a large contributor to Central Florida's economy. However, the area has economically diversified in the past decade. As a high-tech industrial hub, Metro Orlando has the seventh largest research park in the U.S., Central Florida Research Park, the engineering and business school of the University of Central Florida. It has defense companies such as Lockheed Martin and Siemens.[17]

Medical research is conducted in Orlando's Lake Nona area with the University of Central Florida medical school, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute biomedical research facility and a new Veterans Administration hospital.[18] These facilities, along with several research support companies, have lead this research cluster to be referred to as Medical City.[19]

Kennedy Space Center is a NASA facility. Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are military installations located on the Atlantic coast.

Major malls and open-air centers in the area include:

See also

References

  1. ^ Washington, The (2008-01-28). "As I-4 corridor goes, so goes Florida". Washington Times. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  2. ^ http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Summary_TE/FDOT_BD548_07_rpt.pdf
  3. ^ [1][dead link]
  4. ^ "FHP: Florida Facts". Flhsmv.gov. 2000-07-01. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  5. ^ http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/6229:20
  6. ^ "Average Temperatures in Florida". Current Results. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  7. ^ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/eh105
  8. ^ "Bill's Garden". Garden.bsewall.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  9. ^ "NWS Pueblo, CO - Lightning Casualty Statistics USA Page". Crh.noaa.gov. 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  10. ^ "NWS Lightning Frequency Safety Map". Lightningsafety.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  11. ^ "Slideshow Failed Conversion". Slideshare.net. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  12. ^ Hart, Jerry (2009-08-18). "Florida's First Population Decline Since 1946 Squeezes Budget". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  13. ^ [2][dead link]
  14. ^ "Can high-speed rail backers bypass Gov. Rick Scott? - Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 2011-02-16. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  15. ^ Welcome to the Central Florida Zoo "Central Florida Zoo.com
  16. ^ "Orlando Film Locales - Central Florida Film Locales - Orlando Movies". Orlando-florida.net. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  17. ^ "Central Florida Research Park". Cfrp.org. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  18. ^ "Synergy city: Medical researchers head for Lake Nona - Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  19. ^ Vatner, Jonathan (2010-09-07). "Orlando's Newest Attraction Is Lake Nona, a Medical City". Orlando (Fla): NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.

28°55′37″N 81°43′17″W / 28.92694°N 81.72139°W / 28.92694; -81.72139

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