The landscape and climate of north central Florida are distinct from the sub-tropical environment most associated with the rest of the state. The landscape of north central Florida has gently rolling hills dominated by magnolia trees and large southern live oak hammocks draped with Spanish moss. The region also has large expanses of pine forests. The climate is mild throughout the year but often has winters with temperatures dropping below freezing.
As of 2016, the region had Florida's largest concentration of 18 to 44-year-olds and people with advanced degrees thanks to the presence of the University of Florida and Santa Fe College in Gainesville.[5]
The city of Alachua is home to one of the state's largest bio- and life-science corporate sectors.[6]
North central Florida is world-renowned for its fresh water springs and rivers which make it one of the best cave diving regions in the world.[7] Several of the springs are connected to the Suwannee and Santa Fe River systems, some of the more popular being:
Florida pioneer life in the 1800s is the focus at both Morningside Nature Center and Dudley Farm Historic State Park. There are several small, turn-of-the-century towns that represent the culture of the Deep South and are geared toward tourists:
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article North_Central_Florida, and is written by contributors.
Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.