After our Florida facts, we are going to talk about the heart of Florida, Miami. This article of Miami facts will sweep you off your feet and you will be desperate to hit the road which leads to Miami.
Known by various names such as Magic City, Capital of Latin America, and The Gateway of the Americas has a lot to offer to tourists and residents alike. It is the economic, financial, and cultural center of South Florida.
There are many cool things about Miami such as it was a woman who founded this beautiful and beachy city. Hungry for more? So, without any further ado, let us begin our Miami facts.
Miami Facts: 1-14
Etymology
1. The word “Miami” is derived from Native Americans. Native Americans called Lake Okeechobee as ‘Mayaimi ‘ meaning ‘big water’.
2. The word mayaimi was used to name a river, which we know today as Miami River.
3. Finally, the city of Miami was named after the River Miami.
History of Miami
4. The Tequestas, a Native American tribe, have been recorded to live in the Miami land from about 500 to 600 BCE.
5. They lived there peacefully till the Europeans came in contact with them in the 1700s.
6. It is believed that the Native Americans left the territory of Miami to Cuba in the mid-1700s.
7. It was in 1556, Spain, under admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, claimed the area of Miami.
8. From then on, Spain and Britain ruled this area successively. Finally, Spain gave up the claim on Miami to the US in 1821.
9. The US finished the construction of Fort Dallas on River Miami’s banks. The US built the fort because of two reasons – the first reason being developing the territory of Florida.
10. The second reason was to suppress and finally remove the Seminoles. It is due to this fact, Miami became the battleground of the Second Seminole War.
11. As mentioned in the introduction, a Cleveland wealthy woman, Julia Tuttle, founded the city. She was the owner of the land until the city was actually built.
12. In the 19th century, the city was called “Biscayne Bay Country” and “One of the finest building sites in Florida”.
13. Miami greatly benefited from the Great Freeze (brutally cold weather experienced in Florida) in 1894 to 1895 because Miami’s crops were left unharmed.
14. Julia Tuttle convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad businessman, to extend Florida East Coast Railway to Miami.
Miami Facts: 15-28
15. As a token of gratitude, she is lovingly called “the Mother of Miami”.
16. It was on 28th July 1896, Miami was officially considered as a city. AT that time, it had a population of 300 people.
17. The development of Miami took place by leaps and bounds thanks to the contribution of African Americans.
18. However, the peace didn’t last long and extremist white supremacist gangs started warning the African Americans to either leave the land or get bombed.
19. The development halted with back to back disasters like Florida’s land boom in the 1920s, Miami Hurricane in 1926, the Great Depression in the 1930s, and World War II.
20. Miami became the base for the US’s defense against the submarines of Germany as it is a coastal city.
21. The city saw growth and an increase in population, yet again. Because of its rapid growth, the city is dubbed as “the magic city”.
22. The population grew furthermore because of Fidel Castro’s barbaric rule in Cuba. The wealthy businessmen and traders of Cuba left Cuba for the love of their life and came to Miami.
23. The 1980s and 1990s saw the development of many businesses in Miami as a part of the New South.
24. Development and progress brought problems such as drug wars, infiltration from Haiti, and Latin America. Hurricane Andrew hit Miami and South Florida hard.
25. As of today, it belongs to Miami-Dade County, Florida State, and obviously USA.
Miami Geography
26. Miami rests between Biscayne Bay from the east to Everglades to the west. To the south of Miami is Lake Okeechobee and to the north is Florida Bay.
27. It rises 8 feet or 1.8 meters above sea level on average. Miami Rock Bridge is the highest point in Miami.
28. Gulf Stream runs northward off the coast. The warm currents of the Gulf Stream keep the city warm and mild the entire year.
Miami Facts: 29-42
29. The bedrock on which Miami stands is Miami limestone or Miami oolite. The bedrock is just 15 meters or 50 feet thick.
30. The limestone was formed during ice ages or glacial periods. Sea levels were raised by 8 meters or 25 feet above the current level during the Sangamonian stage.
31. Entire Southern Florida was surrounded by a shallow sea. Reefs formed along the edges of the submerged plateau of Florida.
32. The reefs stretched from the current Miami area to the present Dry Tortugas.
33. The area behind this line of the reef was basically a large lagoon. The Miami oolite or limestone started getting deposited.
34. Around 100,000 years ago, the floor of the lagoon started showing up because of the decrease in sea level during Wisconsin glaciation.
35. The sea level further dropped 90 to 110 meters or 300 to 350 feet below the current level some 15,000 years ago.
36. Around 4,000 years ago, the sea levels increased and stabilized at the current level.
37. There are natural sources of freshwater called Biscayne Aquifer that extend from Florida Bay to Southern Palm Beach County.
38. The aquifer is closest to the surface around Hialeah and Miami Springs. Most of the citizens of Miami get water from this aquifer.
39. When it comes to the area, Miami is one of the smallest cities in the United States. It has an area of 56.06 square miles or 145.2 square kilometers.
40. Out of this, 35.99 square miles or 93.2 square kilometers make up land and the rest is water.
41. Miami is one of the densely populated cities of the US. There are around 470,000 people for 36 square miles.
42. Miami is split into four areas viz. North, south, Downtown, and west.
Miami Facts: 43-56
43. Downtown Miami is the heart of the city. It is the economic, financial, and political center of the city.
Climate of Miami
44. As per the Köppen climate classification, Miami has a tropical monsoon climate.
45. The winters of Miami are dried and colder than other tropical places in the USA.
46. The location of the city, its proximity to the Tropic of Cancer and Gulf Stream, sea level, etc. decide the climate of the city.
47. January is the coolest month. Average winter high temperatures range from 24.7 to 26.8 degrees Celsius.
48. The rainy season starts mostly in June and ends in mid-October. During this period, the temperature ranges between 29 and 35 degrees Celsius.
49. This season experiences high humidity but thunderstorms and cool sea breeze cool the climate.
50. The amount of precipitation is 61.9 inches or 1,572 millimeters. Temperatures during dew point (warm months) are mostly 22.2 to 23.2 degrees Celsius in June and August respectively.
51. The coldest temperature recorded was -2.8 degrees Celsius on 3 February 1917, and the highest temperature recorded was 38 degrees Celsius on 21 July 1942.
52. One of the interesting Miami facts is that except on 19 January 1977, Miami has never recorded snowfall.
53. The season of hurricanes starts from June 1 and stays until 30 November. However, hurricanes may appear even beyond this time.
54. The peak of the Cape Verde season is the most vulnerable time for Miami. This season lasts from mid-August to September end.
Miami Demographics
55. Miami is the 42 most populous city in the United States of America.
56. 70% of the population belong to White, 19.2% of the total population is African American. Non-Hispanic White make up 11.9% of the total population.
Miami Facts: 57-70
57. Other communities make up the rest of the population.
58. Christianity is the religion that is followed by 68% of the population. 8% follow Judaism. The rest of the population follow different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.
59. As of 2010, only 27.3% of the population in Miami have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 80% went to high school or higher.
60. One of the craziest Miami facts is that 58% of the entire population is foreign-born! The rest are naturalized American citizens.
61. There are 99.2 males for every 100 females.
62. Spanish and English are the most popularly spoken languages in Miami.
Economy of Miami
63. Miami has a lot of international businesses. Various multinational companies such as Inklet Direct, Celebrity Cruises, RCTV International, Plater-Zyberk, etc. have their headquarters in Miami.
64. Miami also serves as headquarters of Latin America for companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Visa, Walmart, FedEx, AIG, etc.
65. Miami is famous for its television, media, and film industry.
66. Like any other city, Miami has its ups and downs in terms of economic activity.
67. PortMiami is one of the largest ports of the US. Port of Miami is the largest ship port in the whole world and hence it is called “Cargo Gateway of the Americas” and “Cruise Capital of the World”.
68. Thanks to television and media, Miami has become extremely famous and attracts a lot of tourists.
69. In 2017 alone, Miami saw 15.9 million visitors that added $26.1 billion to the economy of Miami.
70. Famous tourist destinations are Lincoln Road, Downton Miami, Bayside Marketplace, and South Beach.
Miami Facts: 71-84
71. Annual events such as Art Basel, South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Miami Open, the Winter Music Conference, etc. also bring a lot of tourists to the land of Miami.
Culture of Miami
72. As mentioned earlier, Miami has gained a lot of tv and media attention. Miami is featured in some of the shows such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Burn Notice, Scarface, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Jane the Virgin, The Birdcage, etc.
73. Many art venues are present in Miami. A few such remarkable art venues are Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Fair Expo Center, Olympia Theater, etc.
74. Miami also hosts several fashion events like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, Miami Fashion Week, etc.
75. There are numerous museums such as HistoryMiami, Frost Museum of Science, Miami Children’s Museum, etc.
76. Miami’s cuisine is an amalgamation of the Caribbean, Latin American, and American cuisine. It has its own name called Floribbean cuisine (for South Florida)!
77. Many cuisines such as Cuban espresso, croquetas, Cuban sandwiches, etc. are popular.
Sports in Miami
78. Hockey, baseball, basketball, football, and soccer are the five popular games of Miami.
79. Miami Dolphins of National Football League, Inter Miami CF of Major League Soccer, Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball, Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association, and Florida Panthers of National Hockey League are the five teams of Miami.
80. Miami hosts several golf courses, marinas, greyhound racing tracks, etc.
General Miami Facts
81. Art deco architecture’s collection in Miami is the largest in the world.
82. One of the amazing Miami facts is that It is the warmest city in winter in the entire USA.
83. Benjamin Green, a pharmacist, was responsible for the invention of suntan lotion. It was invented in Miami. His recipe eventually came to be known as Coppertone.
84. It has around 50 shipwrecks underwater and it is generally called the diver’s paradise and Wreckreational Diving Capital of the World.
Miami Facts: 85-98
85. It is the only city in the entire United States of America to be surrounded by two national parks.
86. Miami beach is partly manmade. It extends from Biscayne bay to Miami proper. The water channels were dug and sand was added to the existing sand to create a proper beach.
87. As Miami Beach is partly manmade, the sand has to be replenished from time to time. This beach is home to art deco architecture.
88. The Florida government spent $11.5 million importing the sand to be replenished for Miami Beach.
89. Miami has a total of 800 parks.
90. The first Burger King store opened in Miami in 1954.
91. You can find the USA’s biggest skiing clubs in Miami.
92. Downtown Miami has the largest number of international banks.
93. Edward Leedskalin, a Latvian immigrant, built Coral Castle all by himself. He built this castle with 1100 tons of coral rock.
94. He constructed this single-handedly and it took him 30 years. He made this for the love of his life, Anges.
95. Miami International Airport handles the most cargo. It also transports the second-highest number of international passengers.
96. MIA provides nearly one of the four jobs in the local economy.
97. Lake Okeechobee is connected with a canal to River Miami.
98. The city also produces a large number of agricultural products such as tomatoes, mangoes, beans, etc.
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