Geographical Summary

Florida's Land Facts:

• Total area of Florida: 58,560 square miles
  • Total Land Area: 54,136 square miles
  • Total Water Area: 4,424 square miles
• Length north and south: 447 miles (St. Marys River to Key West)
• Width east and west : 361 miles (Atlantic Ocean to Perdido River)
• Distance from Pensacola to Key West : 792 miles (by road)
• Coastline: More than 1,260 (more than any state in the continental U.S.)
• Sandy Beaches: 825 miles
• Highest Point: 345 ft., North Walton County
• Number of islands (greater than 10 acres): approximately 4,500
• Florida Keys Chain: 110 miles in length
• No part of Florida is greater than 60 miles from saltwater

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DEP Managed Land Facts:

• Total conservation lands purchased by Florida: 3.8 million acres
• Acres purchased under Florida Forever and Preservation 2000 programs: 2.4 million acres
• Acres acquired from July 2001 to present (under Florida Forever): 669,146 acres
  • Cost of acquisitions July 2001 to present: $2.8 billion
  • Areas protected from the acquisitions from July 2001 to present:
    • 248,650 acres of Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas
    • 411,980 acres of rare species habitat conservation areas, and over 620 Florida Forever conserved habitats for over 246 different species, 108 of which are state-listed as endangered, 47 state-listed threatened, and 22 species of special concern
    • 628,590 acres of ecological greenways
    • 57,240 acres of under-represented natural communities
    • 76,100 acres of natural floodplains
    • 637,210 acres important to significant water bodies
    • 5,120 acres of fragile coastline
    • 276,070 acres of functional wetlands
    • 615,530 acres of significant groundwater recharge areas
    • 210 kilometers of land to support priority recreational trails
    • 297,890 acres of sustainable forest land
    • 572 archaeological and historic sites

  Note: These acreages were derived from the most recently updated Florida Forever data layers, which are continuously amended to reflect the most current scientific analysis of Florida’s natural resources. Additionally the acreages recorded for each measure often overlap, and thus should not be added together.

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Water Facts:

• Total water area: 11,761 square miles
• Ranking by total water area among 50 states: 3rd largest
• Number of U. S. Geological Survey hydrologic units (i.e., watersheds with hydrologic unit codes, or HUCs): 52
• Longest River (entirely in Florida): St. Johns River at 273 miles
• Largest Lake: Lake Okeechobee at 435,840 acres
• Number of lakes, reservoirs, and ponds larger than 10 acres: 7,712
• Area of lakes, reservoirs, and ponds: 1,529,280 acres
• Number of known Springs: Approximately 700
• 1st Magnitude springs (flow of 100 cubic feet/second or more): 33
• Total number of rivers and streams : More than 1,700
• Total number of river and stream miles: 51,858 miles

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