1.
Orlando, Florida
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Orlando is a city in the U. S. state of Florida and the county seat of Orange County. Located in Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 4,000,002, according to U. S. As of 2015, Orlando had an estimated population of 270,934, making it the 73rd-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida. The City of Orlando is nicknamed The City Beautiful, and its symbol is the fountain at Lake Eola, Orlando is also known as The Theme Park Capital of the World and in 2014 its tourist attractions and events drew more than 62 million visitors. The Orlando International Airport is the thirteenth-busiest airport in the United States, with the exception of Walt Disney World, most major attractions are located along International Drive. The city is one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions. Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida, which is the largest university campus in the United States in terms of enrollment as of 2015, in 2010, Orlando was listed as a Gamma− level of world-city in the World Cities Study Groups inventory. Orlando ranks as the fourth-most popular American city based on where people want to live according to a 2009 Pew Research Center study. Fort Gatlin, as the Orlando area was known, was established at what is now just south of the city limits by the 4th U. S. Artillery under the command of Ltc, alexander C. W. Fanning on November 9,1838 during the construction of a series of fortified encampments across Florida during the Second Seminole War. The fort and surrounding area were named for Dr. John S. Gatlin, king Phillip and Coacoochee frequented this area and the tree was alleged to be the place where the previous 1835 ambush that had killed over 100 soldiers had been planned. When the U. S. military abandoned the fort in 1839 the surrounding community was built up by settlers, prior to being known by its current name, Orlando was once known as Jernigan. Aarron Jernigan became Orange Countys first State Representative in 1845 but his pleas for military protection went unanswered. Fort Gatlin was briefly reoccupied by the military for a few weeks during October and November 1849, a historical marker indicates that by 1850 the Jernigan homestead served as the nucleus of a village named Jernigan. One of the countys first records, a grand jurys report, mentions a stockade where it states homesteaders were driven from their homes, Aaron Jernigan led a local volunteer militia during 1852. Jernigan appears on an 1855 map of Florida and by 1856 the area had become the county seat of Orange County and it is known for certain that the area was renamed Orlando in 1857. The move is believed to be sparked, in part, by Aaron Jernigans fall from grace after he was relieved of his command by military officials in 1856. His behavior was so notorious that Secretary of War Jefferson Davis wrote, in 1859, Jernigan and his sons were accused of committing a murder at the towns post office
2.
Amusement park
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An amusement park or theme park is a group of entertainment attractions, rides, and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people. Theme parks, a type of amusement park, are usually much more intricately themed to a certain subject or group of subjects than normal amusement parks. Amusement parks evolved from European fairs and pleasure gardens, which were created for peoples recreation, Worlds fairs and expositions were another influence on the development of the amusement park industry. In common language, the theme park and amusement park are often synonymous. However, a park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific themes or stories. The amusement park evolved from three earlier traditions, the oldest being the periodic fair of the Middle Ages - one of the earliest was the Bartholomew Fair in England, the worlds oldest amusement park appeared in the Continent. Bakken at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, opened in 1583, a wave of innovation in the 1860s and 1870s created mechanical rides, such as the steam-powered carousel, and its derivatives. This inaugurated the era of the modern funfair ride, as the classes were increasingly able to spend their surplus wages on entertainment. The second influence was the pleasure garden, one of the earliest gardens was the Vauxhall Gardens, founded in 1661 in London. By the late 18th century, the site had a fee for its many attractions. It regularly drew crowds, with its paths being noted for romantic assignations, tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents, concerts. Although the gardens were designed for the elites, they soon became places of great social diversity. Public firework displays were put on at Marylebone Gardens, and Cremorne Gardens offered music, dancing, prater in Vienna, Austria, was opened in 1766. The concept of a park for amusement was further developed with the beginning of the worlds fairs. The first World fair began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark Crystal Palace in London, the purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world and it was designed to educate and entertain the visitors. American cities and business saw the worlds fair as a way of demonstrating economic. The Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Illinois was an precursor to the modern amusement park
3.
Nature reserve
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Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws, early reservations often had a religious underpinning, such as the evil forest areas of West Africa which were forbidden to humans, who were threatened with spiritual attack if they went there. Sacred areas taboo from human entry to fishing and hunting are known by ancient cultures worldwide. The worlds first modern nature reserve was established in 1821 by the naturalist and explorer Charles Waterton around his estate in Walton Hall and he spent £9000 on the construction of a 3 mile long,9 ft tall wall to enclose his park from poachers. He tried to encourage birdlife by planting trees and hollowing out trunks for owls to nest in and he also invented artificial nest boxes to house starlings, jackdaws and sand martins and unsuccessfully attempted to introduce little owls from Italy. Drachenfels was protected as the first state-designated nature reserve in modern-day Germany, in Australia, a nature reserve is the title of a type of protected area used in the jurisdictions of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. The term “nature reserve” is defined in the relevant statutes used in those states and territories rather than by a national statute. As of 2014,1767 out of a total of 10339 protected areas listed within the Australian National Reserve System used the term “nature reserve in their names, in Brazil, nature reserves are classified as ecological stations or biological reserves by the National System of Conservation Units. Their main objectives are preserving fauna and flora and other natural attributes, visits are allowed only with permission, and only for educational or scientific purposes. Changes to the ecosystems in both types of reserve are allowed to restore and preserve the balance, biological diversity. Ecological stations are allowed to change the environment within strictly defined limits for the purpose of scientific research. A wildlife reserve in Brazil is also protected, and hunting is not allowed, there are 30 nature reserves in Egypt which cover 12% of Egyptian land. Those nature reserves were built according to the laws no, 102/1983 and 4/1994 for protection of the Egyptian nature reserve. Egypt announced a plan from to build 40 nature reserves from 1997 to 2017, to protect the natural resources. The largest nature reserve in Egypt is Gebel Elba in the southeast, denmark has three national parks and several nature reserves, some of them inside the national park areas. The largest single reserve is Hanstholm Nature Reserve, which covers 40 km2 and is part of Thy National Park, in Sweden there are 29 national parks. The first of them were established in 1909, in fact, Sweden was the first European country that established 9 national parks. There are almost 4,000 nature reserves in Sweden and they comprise about 85% of the surface that is protected by the Swedish Enironmental Code
4.
Florida
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Florida /ˈflɒrᵻdə/ is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U. S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, the Miami metropolitan area is Floridas most populous urban area. The city of Tallahassee is the state capital, much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south, the American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park. It was a location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans. Today, Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth, the states economy relies mainly on tourism, agriculture, and transportation, which developed in the late 19th century. Florida is also renowned for amusement parks, orange crops, the Kennedy Space Center, Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and continues to attract celebrities and athletes. It is internationally known for golf, tennis, auto racing, by the 16th century, the earliest time for which there is a historical record, major Native American groups included the Apalachee, the Timucua, the Ais, the Tocobaga, the Calusa and the Tequesta. Florida was the first part of the continental United States to be visited and settled by Europeans, the earliest known European explorers came with the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce de León spotted and landed on the peninsula on April 2,1513 and he named the region La Florida. The story that he was searching for the Fountain of Youth is a myth, in May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto skirted the coast of Florida, searching for a deep harbor to land. He described seeing a wall of red mangroves spread mile after mile, some reaching as high as 70 feet. Very soon, many smokes appeared along the whole coast, billowing against the sky, the Spanish introduced Christianity, cattle, horses, sheep, the Spanish language, and more to Florida. Both the Spanish and French established settlements in Florida, with varying degrees of success, in 1559, Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano established a settlement at present-day Pensacola, making it the first attempted settlement in Florida, but it was abandoned by 1561. Spain maintained tenuous control over the region by converting the tribes to Christianity. The area of Spanish Florida diminished with the establishment of English settlements to the north, the English attacked St. Augustine, burning the city and its cathedral to the ground several times. Florida attracted numerous Africans and African-Americans from adjacent British colonies who sought freedom from slavery, in 1738, Governor Manuel de Montiano established Fort Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose near St
5.
U.S. Route 441 in Florida
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U. S. Route 441 in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 433 miles from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia border north of the Lake City area, State Road 80 from SR7 in Royal Palm Beach to Main Street in Belle Glade. State Road 15 from Hooker Highway in Belle Glade to Narcoosee Road in St. Cloud, State Road 500 from the intersection with Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Holopaw to Bonnie Heath Boulevard in Ocala. State Road 25A from US 41/US441 Truck to CR 25A north in Five Points, State Road 47 from Duval Street in Lake City to Georgia State Route 89 at the Georgia state line. US441 begins northbound at Southwest 7th Street, which is westbound U. S. Route 41, and ends southbound on Southwest 8th Street, however, the route is soon joined by the tolled Floridas Turnpike and I-95, which follows US441 north to Royal Palm Beach. In between, the interchanges with the Turnpike at exit 62 via State Road 870 in Tamarac. Additionally, US441 meets Interstate 595 west of Fort Lauderdale, at Royal Palm Beach, US441 intersects U. S. Route 98, ending the concurrency with SR7, and overlaps the highway through central Palm Beach County, along with hidden State Road 80. Near Twenty Mile Bend SR700 branches off to the northwest, routes 98 and 441 split until 2007. Just north of Pahokee in Canal Point, SR700 rejoins US 98-441, north of Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, US98 splits away from US441 making a left turn at State Road 70, shortly afterwards the Okeechobee Amtrak station can be found. US441 continues north, meeting the Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction in Osceola County and it passes through the community of Kenansville prior to intersecting U. S. Route 192 at Holopaw. US441 turns west onto US192, forming an overlap into Kissimmee, at Kissimmee US441 separates from US192 and joins US 17/92, here known as the Orange Blossom Trail or OBT. The OBT starts on US 17/92 at the Polk County/Osceola County line a few south of Kissimmee. Immediately after entering Orange County, it intersects the Central Florida GreeneWay, just north of the intersection the Central Florida Parkway leads to Sea World. In Holden Heights, US441 has an interchange with I-4, the interchange provides no south to east access and no west to north access, but such access can found from the intersection with West Michigan Street. Further north is the interchange with SR408 at exit 9, here, US 17/92 turns east onto State Road 50 while US441 continues north on the Orange Blossom Trail. The road moves away from the line north of SR423. This road was intended to be part of the Central Florida GreeneWay loop around the Orlando Metropolitan Area, at the junction with County Road Old 441, US441 finally loses its designation as the Orange Blossom Trail, then crosses the Orange-Lake County Line and enters Mount Dora. Continuing with the surroundings, US441 maintains its straight north and south position until it curves to the northwest between Lincoln and East Pine Avenues
6.
Crocodile
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Crocodiles or true crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodylinae, all of whose members are considered true crocodiles, is classified as a biological subfamily, a broader sense of the term crocodile, Crocodylidae that includes Tomistoma, is not used in this article. The term crocodile here applies only to the species within the subfamily of Crocodylinae, although they appear to be similar to the untrained eye, crocodiles, alligators and the gharial belong to separate biological families. The gharial having a narrow snout is easier to distinguish, while morphological differences are more difficult to spot in crocodiles and alligators. The most obvious differences are visible in the head with crocodiles having narrower and longer heads, with a more V-shaped than a U-shaped snout compared to alligators. Also, when the mouth is closed, the large fourth tooth in the lower jaw fits into a constriction in the upper jaw. For hard-to-distinguish specimens, the tooth is the most reliable feature to define the family that the species belongs to. Crocodiles have more webbing on the toes of the feet and can better tolerate saltwater due to specialized salt glands for filtering out salt. Another trait that separates crocodiles from other crocodilians is their higher levels of aggression. Crocodile size, morphology, behaviour and ecology somewhat differs between species, however, they have many similarities in these areas as well. All crocodiles are semiaquatic and tend to congregate in freshwater such as rivers, lakes, wetlands. They are carnivorous animals, feeding mostly on such as fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. All crocodiles are tropical species that, unlike alligators, are sensitive to cold. They separated from other crocodilians during the Eocene epoch, about 55 million years ago, many species are at the risk of extinction, some being classified as critically endangered. The word crocodile comes from the Ancient Greek κροκόδιλος, lizard, used in the phrase ho krokódilos tou potamoú, there are several variant Greek forms of the word attested, including the later form κροκόδειλος found cited in many English reference works. In the Koine Greek of Roman times, crocodilos and crocodeilos would have been pronounced identically, crocodilos or crocodeilos is a compound of krokè, and drilos/dreilos, although drilos is only attested as a colloquial term for penis. It is ascribed to Herodotus, and supposedly describes the habits of the Egyptian crocodile. The form crocodrillus is attested in Medieval Latin and it is not clear whether this is a medieval corruption or derives from alternative Greco-Latin forms
7.
Aviary
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An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly, hence, aviaries often contain plants and shrubbery to simulate a natural environment. Large aviaries are often found in the setting of a zoological garden, spacious walk-in aviaries also exist in bird parks such as Jurong BirdPark in Singapore. Pittsburgh is home to the USAs National Aviary, perhaps the most prominent example in North America of an aviary not set inside a zoo, the Tracy Aviary is an example of a bird park within a public urban park, Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some public aquaria, such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, also the Raven Cage in 1829, is regarded as one of the oldest structures in the London Zoo. The first large aviary inside a garden was established in 1880 in the setting of the [[Diergaarde Blijdorp|Rotterdam Zoo by white girl isabella fields. In 1902, a cage was completed in the setting of the National Zoological Park of the Smithsonian Institution. A new Great Flying Cage was built in 1964, the Saint Louis Zoo is home to the 1904 Worlds Fair Flight Cage. It is one of two permanent structures built for the Worlds Fair which still remain. In 1904, it was the largest bird cage ever built and it remains one of the worlds largest free-flight aviaries. The 69 m long,26 m wide, and 15 m high cage was built by the Smithsonian Institution specifically for the St. Louis Worlds Fair, local pride in the giant cage motivated St. Louis to finally establish a zoo in 1910. In 1937, the San Diego Zoos aviary designed by architect Louis John Gill opened, with the Antwerp cage system, birds are only separate from public with a light system used indoor the Bird Building at Antwerp Zoo. At the Frankfurt Zoo, the house was built in 1969. Its Bird Halls presented birds for the first time in large glassed miniature habitats, in diving exhibits, darters and kingfishers could be seen hunting under water, and in the free-flight hall visitors still walk amongst tropical birds in dense vegetation. The Snowdon Aviary in London Zoo was designed by Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, Cedric Price and Frank Newby, the Bronx Zoos World of Birds, a two-story bird house completed in 1972, is a huge, landscaped, indoor free-flight exhibit. The one-way flow pattern in the moves the visitors through twenty-five birds habitats. Each setting recreates with impressive fidelity the microculture of the birds that fly merrily about within their diorama world, five of the aviaries are completely open, in two of the largest the uncaged public walks through the habitat with birds freely overhead. The Henry Doorly Zoos Simmons Aviary opened in 1983 and is one of the worlds largest free-flight aviaries, about 500 birds from all parts of the world occupy the area of the aviary
8.
Kissimmee, Florida
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Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 59,682 and it is the county seat of Osceola County. Kissimmee is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, the area was originally named Allendale, after Confederate Major J. H. Allen who operated the first cargo steamboat along the Kissimmee River – the Mary Belle. It was renamed Kissimmee when incorporated as a city in 1883, the etymology of the name Kissimmee is debated, apart from general agreement that it is Native American in origin. Its growth can be credited to Hamilton Disston of Philadelphia, who based his four-million acre drainage operation out of the small town, Disston had contracted with the financially wobbly state of Florida to drain its southern lands, for which he would own half of all he successfully drained. This deal made Disston the largest single landowner in the United States, disstons dredging and land speculation required a small steamboat industry to transport people and goods along the new waterway. The Kissimmee shipyard was responsible for building most of large steamships. Concurrently, the South Florida Railroad was growing and extended the end of its line from Sanford down to Kissimmee, on February 12,1885, the Florida Legislature incorporated the Kissimmee City Street Railway. But the heyday of Kissimmee was short-lived, expanding railroads began to challenge the steamships for carrying freight and passengers. By 1884, the South Florida Railroad, now part of the Plant System, had extended its tracks to Tampa, the Panic of 1893 was the worst depression the U. S. had experienced up to that time, crushing land speculation and unsound debt. Hamilton Disston closed his Kissimmee land operation, consecutive freezes in 1894 and 1895 wiped out the citrus industry. The freezes, combined with South Floridas growth and the relocation of operations to Lake Okeechobee. Kissimmee had a population of 4,310 in 1950, at that point there was some citrus packing as well as the ranching. Ranching remained an important part of the economy until the opening of nearby Walt Disney World in 1971. After that, tourism and development supplanted cattle ranching to a large measure, however, even though the Disney facility took over much of the open range cattle lands, cattle ranches still operate nearby, particularly in the southern part of Osceola County. Kissimmee Utility Authority restored power to 54 percent of the residents in the first 72 hours,85 percent were restored within one week, service was restored to all customers on August 28. Three weeks after Hurricane Charley, the area was struck by Hurricane Frances, Kissimmee is located at 28°18′14″N 81°24′46″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 17.32 square miles
9.
Leucism
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Leucism is a condition in which there is partial loss of pigmentation in an animal resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in types of pigment. Leucism is a term for the phenotype resulting from defects in pigment cell differentiation and/or migration from the neural crest to skin, hair. This results in either the surface or patches of body surface having a lack of cells capable of making pigment. Since all pigment cell-types differentiate from the same multipotent precursor cell-type and this is in contrast to albinism, for which leucism is often mistaken. Albinism results in the reduction of production only, though the melanocyte is still present. Thus in species that have other pigment cell-types, for example xanthophores, albinos are not entirely white and this is notable in horses, cows, cats, dogs, the urban crow and the ball python but is also found in many other species. A further difference between albinism and leucism is in eye colour, due to the lack of melanin production in both the retinal pigmented epithelium and iris, those affected by albinism typically have red eyes due to the underlying blood vessels showing through. In contrast, most leucistic animals have normally coloured eyes and this is because the melanocytes of the RPE are not derived from the neural crest, instead an outpouching of the neural tube generates the optic cup which, in turn, forms the retina. As these cells are from an independent developmental origin, they are unaffected by the genetic cause of leucism. Genes that, when mutated, can cause leucism include, c-kit, mitf, the terms leucistic and leucism are derived from medical terminology. The stem leuc- is the Latin variant of leuk- from the Greek leukos meaning white, albino and white squirrels Amelanism Dyschromia Erythrism Heterochromia iridum Melanism Piebaldism Vitiligo Xanthochromism
10.
Narrow-gauge railway
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A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm, narrow-gauge railways also have specialized use in mines and other environments where a very small structure gauge makes a very small loading gauge necessary. Narrow-gauge railways also have general applications. Many narrow-gauge street tramways are used, particularly in Europe, where 1,000 mm metre gauge tramways are common, the earliest recorded railway is shown in the De re metallica of 1556, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft gauge. During the 16th century, railways were mainly restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe, during the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points and these railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The worlds first steam locomotive on rails, built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, during the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium, historically, many narrow-gauge railways were built as part of specific industrial enterprises and were primarily industrial railways rather than general carriers. Some common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways were mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of the world for these purposes. For example, mountain logging operations in the 19th century often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill sites to market, significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland. Narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in use for the construction of tunnels. Extensive narrow-gauge railway systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I and they were a short-lived military application, and after the end of the war, the surplus equipment from these created a small boom in narrow gauge railway building in Europe. Narrow-gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, the use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. In many countries, narrow gauge railways were built as feeder or branch lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, the choice was often not between a narrow-gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow-gauge railway and none at all. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore, and gravel, can be transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties
11.
Central Florida
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Central Florida is a region of the U. S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay. It is one of Floridas three best known regions, along with North Florida and South Florida. Like many vernacular regions, Central Floridas boundaries are not official or consistent, a 2007 study of Floridas regions by geographers Ary Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski found that Floridians surveyed identified Central Florida as comprising a large swath of peninsular Florida. In addition, North Central Florida has emerged as a region representing the interior area in the northern part of the state. Central Florida is one of Floridas three most common directional regions, the others being North Florida and South Florida, Lamme and Oldakowski note that the directional region is more commonly used in the interior areas rather than on the coast. This definition covers much of the area as in Lamme and Oldakowskis survey. It excludes the Tampa Bay Area and North Central Florida, as well as the coastal counties. The Central region includes the Orlando metropolitan area, Marion and Sumter Counties in the interior and 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. There is a mixture of wetlands, Cypress, Oak, Maple and Pine forests, pastures, prairies, 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, there are over 100 miles of coastline in Central Florida along the Atlantic Coast. Major beaches include Canaveral National Seashore, New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, 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 winter high temperature in Orlando being 72 °F. Summers are hot and humid with temperatures averaging 92 °F. Peak summer heat generally arrives in early June and continues to early October, 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 referred to as the Thunderstorm capital of the USA. 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. At the end of the Civil War most of Central Florida was barely-inhabitable wetlands and it took a major drainage project financed by Philadelphia businessman Hamilton Disston in the 1880s to make the land available for settlement
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