North Florida
Region
Top left to right:Florida State Capitol inTallahassee,DowntownJacksonville, Flagler College,Tallahassee skyline Bottom left to right:Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, andBig Lagoon State Park
Country	United States
State	Florida
Largest city	Jacksonville
Population  (2010)
• Total	3,753,144 (approximate area)[1]

North Florida is aregion of theU.S. state ofFlorida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along withSouth Florida andCentral Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includesJacksonville and nearby localities inNortheast Florida, an interior region known asNorth Central Florida, and theFlorida Panhandle. North Florida is considered to be part of theSouthern United States, namely theDeep South, and contains the state capital ofTallahassee.

As with many vernacular regions, North Florida does not have any officially designated boundaries or status, and is defined differently in different sources. A 2007 study of Florida's regions by geographers Ary Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski found that Floridians surveyed identified "North Florida" as comprising the northernmost areas of the state, including both the peninsula and theFlorida Panhandle. Additionally, two localized "directional" regions had emerged:North East Florida, also known as the "First Coast", representing the area aroundJacksonville on theAtlantic coast, andNorth Central Florida, comprising the central area.^[2] North Florida is one of Florida's three most common directional regions, along withCentral Florida andSouth Florida.^[3] The region includes smaller vernacular regions, particularly along the coast, including theEmerald Coast and theBig Bend on theGulf Coast and theFirst Coast andHalifax area on theAtlantic.^[2] Lamme and Oldakowski note that the directional region is more commonly used in the interior areas than on the coast.^[3]

Enterprise Florida, the state'seconomic development agency, divides the state into three economic regions, used within the agency and other state and outside entities, including theFlorida Department of Transportation. They identify three regions within the area identified as "North Florida" by Enterprise Florida: Northeast Florida, North Central Florida, and Northwest Florida (representing most of the Panhandle).^[4]

The following regions are entirely or partly within Northern Florida:

Tallahassee, the capital of theState of Florida.

Jacksonville, the most populous city proper in theSoutheast, and twelfth most populous in the United States.

St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States.

Jacksonville is the largestmetropolitan area in North Florida. Its cities includeSt. Augustine,Orange Park, andFernandina Beach, this area is sometimes referred to as theFirst Coast. Other metropolitan areas includePensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent,Tallahassee,Gainesville,Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin,Panama City-Lynn Haven, andPalm Coast. Important cities considered micropolitan areas includeLake City andPalatka.

Lamme and Oldakowski's survey identifies several demographic, political, and cultural elements that characterize North Florida and distinguish it from other areas of the state. North Floridians considered North Florida to be part of theSouth and "Dixie". Additionally, residents of some parts of North Florida considered their area to be in theBible Belt, while residents of other parts of the state did not.^[2] A popular expression of people in this region of the state goes "In Florida, the farther north you go, the farther South you are."

Politically, in contrast to Central Florida, where a majority considered their part of the state moderate, and South Florida, which was more liberal, residents of North Florida overwhelmingly (76%) considered their part of the state conservative; 16% considered it moderate and 8% considered it liberal.^[9] Lamme and Oldakowski's findings track with Barney Warf and Cynthia Waddell's studies of Florida's political geography during the2000 Presidential election.^[9][10]

Lamme and Oldakowski's survey also found some cultural indicators that characterize North Florida. In general, North Florida was similar to Central Florida and differed from South Florida in these measures. In North and Central Florida,American cuisine was the most popular food, in contrast to South Florida, where ethnic foods were equally popular.^[11] Additionally, while there was little geographical variation for most styles of music, there was regional variation for bothcountry andLatin music. Country was popular in North and Central Florida, and less so in South Florida, while Latin was less popular in North and Central Florida, and more so in South Florida.^[11]

Lamme and Oldakowski noted that North Florida's economy was much more diversified than Central and South Florida, where tourism was by far the most significant industry. While tourism was a significant factor in North Florida's economy, particularly in the Emerald Coast, other important industries included agriculture in rural areas, education in Tallahassee and Gainesville, and military and finance in Jacksonville.^[12]

Major military bases in the region include thePensacola Naval Air Station,Jacksonville Naval Air Station,Camp Blanding,Naval Station Mayport,Corry Station Naval Technical Training Center,Naval Support Activity Panama City,Blount Island Command,Eglin Air Force Base andHurlburt Field.

Major attractions include theBig Kahuna's,Marineland of Florida,Florida State Capitol,World Golf Village,Historic Pensacola Village, and historic sites inSt. Augustine. North Florida also has a wide variety of natural attractions including theRavine Gardens State Park,Big Lagoon State Park,Osceola National Forest, andTimucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. North Florida also has three majorzoos, theJacksonville Zoo and Gardens,St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park andGulf Breeze Zoo.

Major malls and shopping districts includeThe Avenues,Butler Plaza,Five Points,Gateway Town Center,Governor's Square,The Oaks Mall,Orange Park Mall,Paddock Mall,Pier Park,Regency Square,River City Marketplace,St. Johns Town Center andUniversity Town Plaza.

The following are major central business districts:

• Downtown Jacksonville
• Downtown Pensacola

• 

  Downtown Tallahassee

Thousands of companies are headquartered in North Florida. Among those, the following 4 are in theFortune 1000:

Additional notable companies headquartered (or with a significant presence) in North Florida include (some defunct or subsumed):

Areas under federal protection includeCastillo de San Marcos National Monument,Fort Matanzas National Monument,Fort Caroline National Memorial,Gulf Islands National Seashore, andTimucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.National forests occupy large sections of North Florida, including theApalachicola National Forest,Choctawhatchee National Forest andOsceola National Forest.

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(August 2008)

State University System

• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Tallahassee)
• Florida State University (Tallahassee)
• University of Florida (Gainesville)
• University of North Florida (Jacksonville)
• University of West Florida (Pensacola)

State College System

• Chipola College (Marianna)
• Florida Gateway College (Lake City)
• Florida State College at Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
• Gulf Coast State College (Panama City)
• North Florida Community College (Madison)
• Northwest Florida State College (Niceville)
• Pensacola State College (Pensacola)
• Santa Fe College (Gainesville)
• St. Johns River State College (Palatka)
• Tallahassee State College (Tallahassee)

(Partial list)

• Edward Waters College (Jacksonville)
• Flagler College (St. Augustine)
• Jacksonville University (Jacksonville)
• Jones College (Jacksonville)
• Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science (Jacksonville)

(Partial list)

• Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
• Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
• McKinley Climatic Laboratory

The following airports currently have regularly scheduled commercial service:

• Jacksonville Transportation Authority operates a monorail system known as theSkyway
• Amtrak:Jacksonville Station andPalatka Union Depot are currently the only intercity rail stops in North Florida
  • Silver Meteor - Eastern seaboard
  • Silver Star - Eastern seaboard
  • Sunset Limited - East-west route (suspended since 2005)

• Escambia County Area Transit
• Gainesville Regional Transit System
• Jacksonville Transportation Authority
• Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission
• Okaloosa County Transit
• Ride Solution
• StarMetro

• Drayton Island Ferry
• Fort Gates Ferry
• Jacksonville Water Taxi
• Mayport Ferry

Interstates:

• Interstate 10
• Interstate 110
• Interstate 75
• Interstate 95
• Interstate 295 (Jacksonville Beltway)

U.S. Routes:

• Lamme, Ary J.; Oldakowski, Raymond K. (November 2007). "Spinning a new geography of vernacular regional identity: Florida in the twenty-first century".Southeastern Geographer.47 (2):320–340.doi:10.1353/sgo.2007.0029.S2CID 129577530.
• Warf, Barney; Waddell, Cynthia (January 2002). "Florida in the 2000 presidential election: historical precedents and contemporary landscapes".Political Geography.21 (1):85–90.doi:10.1016/S0962-6298(01)00063-4.
• Anthony J. Catanese Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University (2006)."Charting the Course: Where is South Florida Heading?"(PDF).Florida Atlantic University. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on December 16, 2011. RetrievedMarch 30, 2012.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)

• Geography of Florida
• North Florida
• Regions of Florida

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