The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

on the north and the west,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on the north, and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined. In terms of population, major communities include

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, and

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...

. As is the case with the other eight U.S. states that have

panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

s, the geographic meaning of the term is inexact and elastic. References to the Florida Panhandle always include the ten

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

west of the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 160 mi (180 km) long in the state of Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its far ...

, a natural geographic boundary, which was the historic dividing line between the British colonies of

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

and

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

. These western counties also lie in the

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordin ...

(with the exception of Gulf County, which is divided between the Eastern and Central Time zones), while the rest of the state is in the

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a smal ...

. References to the Panhandle ''may'' also include some or all of eleven counties immediately east of the Apalachicola known as the Big Bend region, along the curve of

Apalachee Bay Apalachee Bay is a bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico occupying an indentation of the Florida coast to the west of where the Florida peninsula joins the United States mainland. It is bordered by Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin ...

. Like the rest of

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

, including

North Central Florida North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the North Florida counties of Alachua, Marion, Putnam, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafa ...

, the Panhandle is more similar in culture and climate to the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...

than the rest of the state, particularly to

Central Florida 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 usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the ...

and

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

in the lower peninsula, being known for its conservative politics and "piney woods." The largest city in the Panhandle is

, the state capital, population 196,169 (

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

). However, the largest population grouping is the

Pensacola Metropolitan Area The Pensacola metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on Pensacola, Florida. It is also known as the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) used for statistical purposes by the ...

with a population of 511,502 (2020), which includes the second and third largest communities in the region,

and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. The total population of the Panhandle, as of the 2010 Census, was 1,407,925, just under 7.5% of Florida's total population as recorded in the same census. At roughly 70 persons per square mile, its population density is less than one fifth of Florida's as a whole.

Coastal regions

Emerald Coast

''Emerald Coast'', a term coined in 1983, refers in general to the beaches and coastal resorts from Pensacola to

Port St. Joe Port St. Joe is a city located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71 and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 3,357. This was a decline from 3,644 as of the 2000 census. Histo ...

, but is sometimes used to refer, by extension, to the Panhandle as a whole, especially west of the Apalachicola. Earlier designations include "Playground of the Gulfcoast" and the "Miracle Strip", especially for the area between Fort Walton Beach and

. Coastal regions of the following counties (if not the entirety of the counties themselves) are usually included when referring to the Emerald Coast: *

Okaloosa County Okaloosa County is located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. Okaloosa County ...

Santa Rosa County Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities with ...

* Walton County Coastal portions of Escambia County (namely

Pensacola Beach Pensacola Beach is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community located on Santa Rosa Island, Florida, Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island, in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is situated south of Pensa ...

) that lie on the western edge, and coastal portions of Bay County that lie on the eastern edge, are also regularly included when referring to the Emerald Coast, but with somewhat less regularity than the three aforementioned counties listed above. However, the agency providing water, sewer, and garbage collection services to unincorporated Escambia County, which is headquartered in Pensacola, is called the ''Emerald Coast Utility Authority''.

Forgotten Coast

The ''Forgotten Coast'' is a trademarked term coined in the early 1990s used to refer to the coastal portion of the Florida Panhandle extending from

Mexico Beach Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

or southeastern Bay County on the

to St. Marks on

. It is usually not considered a part of the Emerald Coast, which lies directly adjacent to the west. Coastal regions of the following counties (if not the entirety of the counties themselves) are usually included when referring to the Forgotten Coast: * Gulf County * Franklin County * Wakulla County * Small portions of Bay County

Physical features

The

is the largest river of the Panhandle. It is formed by the junction of several rivers, including the Chattahoochee and the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

, where the boundaries of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida meet. From there, it flows southward to the town of Apalachicola. Major

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

include, from west to east:

Perdido Bay Perdido Bay is a bay at the mouth of and draining the Perdido River, a designated Outstanding Florida Waters river, in Baldwin County, Alabama and Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is essentially a coastal lagoon enclosed by barrier isl ...

, fed by the

Perdido River Perdido River, historically Rio Perdido (1763), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. states of Alabama and Florida; the Perdido, a desig ...

, which forms the western boundary of Florida;

Escambia Bay Escambia Bay is a bay located in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, in the far western Florida Panhandle. The city of Pensacola is located on the western side, and the town of Milton is located on the northeastern end of the two-pronged bay. ...

and

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

, fed by the Escambia River and

Blackwater River A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black tea ...

, respectively; Choctawhatchee Bay, fed by the Choctawhatchee River; and St. Andrews Bay, fed by

Econfina Creek Econfina Creek is a small river in the middle Florida Panhandle. It flows through hilly country, and has sections of whitewater rapids. Much of its flow comes from springs. The river ends at Deer Point Lake, a reservoir that provides the freshwa ...

Pensacola Bay Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle. The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacola ...

, a deepwater port, is formed by the joining of Escambia and East bays. The

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterwa ...

, completed in 1949, traverses the lower Panhandle by means of bays, lagoons, sounds, and man-made canals. The

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

s of

Perdido Key Perdido is a Spanish and Portuguese word for ‘lost’. It may refer to: * "Perdido" (song), jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol *"Perdido", song from WarCry's album '' ¿Dónde Está La Luz?'' * HMS ''Trouncer'' (D85), ship also known as USS ' ...

and Santa Rosa Island extend from the Pandhandle's western extremity through Fort Walton Beach to Destin.

Britton Hill Britton Hill is the highest natural point in the state of Florida, United States, with a summit elevation of above mean sea level. Britton Hill is the lowest state highpoint in the United States,

is the highest natural point in the state at 345 feet (105 meters) above mean sea level.

History

19th century

Throughout the 19th century, the Panhandle was sparsely populated, dotted in places with small farming communities, none of which had as many as a thousand residents. Many Panhandle residents had, in fact, migrated to the area from Alabama and had relatives there; it was also easier to trade with and travel to southern Alabama than to reach East Florida by slow, arduous journey across the thick cypress swamps and dense pine forests of the Panhandle. It was natural for West Floridians to feel that they had more in common with their nearby neighbors in Alabama than with the residents of the peninsula, hundreds of miles away. In 1821, Pensacola was the only city (in 19th-century terms) in West Florida, with a population estimated to be about 3,000. In the 1850 census, the enumerated population of Pensacola was 2,164 (including 741 slaves and 350 "free Negroes").Herbert J. Doherty, "Ante-bellum Pensacola: 1821–1860, ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', January 1959
/ref>

Alabama annexation proposals

During the course of the century, proposals for ceding the Florida counties west of the

were often raised: *In 1811, while Florida was still a Spanish possession, American settlers in the territory sent a petition to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

asking to be incorporated into the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

, which at that time included present-day Alabama. (See

article.) *In 1819, the constitutional convention of Alabama asked Congress to include West Florida in their new state. *In 1822, only a year after the U.S. acquired the entire

Florida territory The Territory of Florida was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 30, 1822, until March 3, 1845, when it was admitted to the Union as the state of Florida. Originally the major portion of the Spanish ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, residents of West Florida sent a petition to the U.S. House of Representatives asking that their section be annexed to Alabama, and Alabama Senator John Williams Walker also promoted the idea. *In 1826, the ''Pensacola Gazette'' published a number of letters advocating annexation to Alabama, though the editor remarked that some Pensacolians opposed the idea. *In 1840, a public meeting in Pensacola produced a demand that West Florida be united with Alabama. In the same year, the territorial Legislature notified Congress that it opposed allowing Alabama to annex West Florida, but in 1844, the year before statehood, the Legislature reversed its stance and asked that West Florida be separated. *In 1856, advocates of annexation were able to get a bill passed by the Legislature authorizing a referendum on the issue, but Governor James E. Broome vetoed the measure. The ''Pensacola Gazette'' reported that "annexation is desired by a large majority of the people" of the area. *In 1858, the Alabama Legislature unsuccessfully tried to open negotiations with Florida on the subject. *The annexation issue was eclipsed by the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

and the war's effects on the region, but in 1868, with Pensacola now connected by the Panhandle's sole railroad line to the Alabama cities of Mobile and Montgomery, the issue came to a head again and was finally put to a vote of the people. In that year, the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers se ...

approved a joint resolution authorizing their Governor to negotiate with the Governor of Florida about the annexation of West Florida. An offer of one million dollars in Alabama state bonds, paying 8 percent interest for thirty years, was included. Both states appointed commissioners to make detailed recommendations on the matter. *On November 2, 1869, a referendum was held in the West Florida counties (except

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, which was in the throes of bloody racial violence), with a result of 1162 to 661 in favor of annexation. However, political objection developed in Alabama to the high price, and the Legislature took no action on the results of the referendum. *In 1873, a similar proposal was made in the Alabama Legislature, which the state senate approved, though it did not pass a separate proposal to finance the measure by selling all of Alabama's territory west of the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

, including the city of Mobile, to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. However, nothing came of this action. *In 1901, Alabama made yet another offer when the Legislature appointed a commission to negotiate with Florida about annexation, but this attempt, too, was unsuccessful. The building of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, completed in 1883, finally linked Pensacola and the Panhandle solidly with the rest of the state and ended the region's isolation, although from time to time during the twentieth century there were still occasional calls for annexation that generated some public discussion but no legislative action.

20th century

In the last quarter of the century, hurricanes that directly struck the area and caused significant damage included

Hurricane Eloise Hurricane Eloise was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the ...

in 1975, Hurricane Kate in 1985, and Hurricane Erin and Hurricane Opal, both in 1995. The area was a prime target of the March 1993 Storm of the Century.

21st century

The Panhandle suffered direct hits from

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlant ...

in 2004 and

Hurricane Dennis Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. F ...

in 2005. Ivan was the most disastrous, making landfall near

Gulf Shores, Alabama Gulf Shores is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 9,741. Geography Gulf Shores is located on the Gulf of Mexico at 30°16'4.069" North, 87°42'5.285" West (30.267797, −87.7 ...

, with 120 mile-per-hour (193 km/h) winds and a 14-foot (4.3 m) storm surge that devastated Perdido Key and Santa Rosa Island, wrecked the

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

bridge across

, and destroyed thousands of homes in the region, some as far away as 20 miles (32 km) inland. On June 23, 2010, oil from the ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill landed on Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach, damaging the fishing and tourism industries, and prompting a massive clean-up effort. On October 10, 2018, the Panhandle suffered a direct hit from

Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to ma ...

, with winds as high as 160 MPH. Michael was one of only four

category 5 hurricanes Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *C ...

to ever hit the US mainland. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and apartment rents in Panama City increased, with a $500 apartment renting for $1000 in 2019. Recovery from Hurricane Michael was not complete in June 2019, and disaster relief for the Panhandle remained stalled in Congress.

Economy

Historically, the economy of the Panhandle depended mainly on

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

lumbering Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

s, import/export

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

at Pensacola and to a lesser extent at Panama City,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

, and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...

. After World War II, the economy was boosted by the numerous military bases established in the region, as well as the growth of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and the

hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. ...

. In addition to military bases, state and local governments, hospitals, schools, and colleges, major private employers in the second half of the twentieth century included

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

and Westinghouse plants at Pensacola, the

St. Joe Paper Company The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate d ...

, and Gulf Power, a major electric utility company. Unlike central and southern Florida, the Panhandle has never been a producer of

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

crops because the area is subject to regular frosts and freezes in wintertime, which destroy citrus fruits.

Transportation

Road

is the only interstate highway in the Panhandle, connecting the extreme west with

and

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. Other older east–west routes include

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

and

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...

. Important north–south routes west of the Apalachicola River include U.S. Highway 29, U.S. Highway 331, and

U.S. Highway 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmarks ...

, all linking to Alabama and

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gul ...

. State Road 20 stretches from Niceville to Tallahassee.

Rail

Freight service is provided by the Class III Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, which acquired most of the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

main line from Pensacola to Jacksonville on June 1, 2019. (For the history of this line, see Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad.) Passenger service ended with the creation of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

in 1971, but was revived with the extension of the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...

'' to Orlando beginning in 1993; however, passenger service was discontinued after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

struck the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

in 2005. Other regional short-line railroads serving the Panhandle are the Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway (formerly

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

, ex- Frisco Railway), the

Bay Line Railroad The Bay Line Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates between Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama, including a branch from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, reached via trackage ri ...

, and the

AN Railway The AN Railway is one of several shortline railroad companies owned by the Genesee & Wyoming parent company. It operates between Port Saint Joe, Florida and a connection with the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad at Chattahoochee, Florida. The ...

Air

Major airports include: *

Pensacola International Airport Pensacola International Airport , formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport and Pensacola Regional Airport (Hagler Field), is a public use airport northeast of the central business district of Pensacola, in Escambia County, Florida, Unit ...

* Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport * Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport * Tallahassee International Airport *

Bob Sikes Airport Bob Sikes Airport , named for Robert L. F. Sikes, is a public-use airport located northeast of the central business district of the city of Crestview in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned and supports a mix ...

* Destin Executive Airport *

DeFuniak Springs Airport DeFuniak Springs Airport is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) west of the central business district of the city of DeFuniak Springs in Walton County, Florida, United States The United States of America (U.S. ...

* Apalachicola Regional Airport * Perry-Foley Airport

Education

The following institutions of higher learning are located in the Florida Panhandle. State University System: * Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (

) *

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

(

) *

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sys ...

(

) Florida College System: *

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor' ...

( Marianna) *

Gulf Coast State College Gulf Coast State College is a public college in Panama City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and offers the Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, certificates, and as of 2011, bachelor's degrees. History The ...

(

) * Northwest Florida State College ( Niceville) *

Pensacola State College Pensacola State College (PSC), formerly Pensacola Junior College, is a public college in Pensacola, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The main campus, located in Pensacola, was opened in 1948 and was the first institute of high ...

(

) *

Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee Community College (TCC) is a public community college in Tallahassee, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. As of fall 2017, TCC reported 24,639 ...

(

) Religiously affiliated: * Baptist College of Florida ( Graceville) * Pensacola Christian College (

)

Politics

The politics of the Florida Panhandle vary considerably depending on location. The western Panhandle, particularly the

Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, which include Pensacola Beach, Navar ...

, was one of the earliest areas to shake off its Yellow Dog Democrat roots, and since the 1990s has become the most Republican part of Florida. Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Panama City regularly give Republicans close to or over 70% margins in state and national elections. However, Tallahassee and

Gadsden County Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

tend to be strongly Democratic. In the 2008 Presidential election,

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 421,287 votes (60.1%) in the Panhandle, while

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

received 279,206 votes (39.9%).

Culture and sports

Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is an annual three-day, juried art show in historic Seville Square in downtown Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1973, this Festival is held the first full weekend in November. Annually, it draws over 200 painters ...

Florida A&M Rattlers The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's s ...

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivi ...

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

* Pensacola Ice Flyers *

Red Hills Horse Trials The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in Tallahassee, in the U.S. state of Florida and is one of the equestrian world's top events. It is an annual major eventing competition held by the United States Eventing Association, Area III and the 16th ev ...

* Springtime Tallahassee *

Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival The Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival is an annual two-day charitable event held in November in Tallahassee, Florida, United States which began in 1995. Non-profit affiliations The TWFF benefits the March of Dimes to improve the health of babie ...

Counties

The following

west of the Apalachicola River are ''always'' included in references to the Panhandle: * Bay County * Calhoun County * Escambia County * Gulf County * Holmes County * Jackson County *

* Walton County * Washington County Some or all of the following counties east of the Apalachicola, in the Big Bend subregion, are ''sometimes'' considered part of the Panhandle: * Dixie County * Franklin County *

* Hamilton County * Jefferson County * Lafayette County * Leon County * Liberty County * Madison County * Taylor County * Wakulla County

Cities and towns

Places marked with an asterisk (*) lie east of the Apalachicola River, and may not be considered part of the Panhandle by some residents or writers. * Apalachicola * Blountstown * Bonifay * Brent * Callaway *

Carrabelle Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. The population was 2,778 as of the 2010 census. Carrabelle is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. Geography ...

* * Cedar Grove * Century * Chipley * Crestview * Cross City* * DeFuniak Springs * Destin * Fort Walton Beach *

Gulf Breeze Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,900 in 2020. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensaco ...

* Jay * Lynn Haven *

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

* * Marianna *

* Milton * Niceville *

* Panama City Beach * Paxton *

* Port St Joe * Quincy* * Springfield *

* * Valparaiso Population of the major metropolitan areas in the Panhandle: *

Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area The Pensacola metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on Pensacola, Florida. It is also known as the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) used for statistical purposes by the U ...

- 455,102 (2009) * Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area - 180,822 (2010) * Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area - 202,236 (2020) * Tallahassee Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area - 367,413 (2010)

Beaches

The Panhandle is renowned for the white sand beaches and blue-green waters of its barrier islands fronting the Gulf of Mexico. According to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

The stunning sugar-white beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore are composed of fine quartz eroded from granite in the Appalachian Mountains. The sand is carried seaward by rivers and creeks and deposited by currents along the shore.

The beach towns in the Panhandle, many of which play host to college students during spring break, are sometimes derisively called ''the Redneck Riviera''. The term was used as the title of a song by country music artist

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

on his 1996 album ''Songs from Sopchoppy''. The album takes its name from a town in rural Wakulla County, near Tallahassee. Tourists have been drawn to the Panhandle since the building of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad in the 1880s.

has been a major tourist attraction since the building of bridges between the mainland and Santa Rosa Island in 1931. After World War II, an increase in both tourism and population of the area led to a proliferation of motels, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, and amusement parks along the coast, concentrated in Pensacola Beach, Fort Walton Beach, and Panama City Beach. Examples include the Gulfarium marine park and aquarium in Fort Walton Beach, and the former

Miracle Strip Amusement Park Miracle Strip Amusement Park was a theme park located in Panama City Beach, Florida, which operated from 1963 to 2004. The highlight of the park was The Starliner Roller Coaster, an "out-and-back" wooden coaster designed by John Allen upon the ...

(1963–2004) in Panama City Beach. In 1971, the federal government acquired many acres of the coastal islands in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties, preserving them from commercial development by establishing the

Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven i ...

, which also covers some islands off the

coast. Other beach areas protected by the state of Florida include * Perdido Key State Park *

Big Lagoon State Park First acquired in 1977, Big Lagoon State Park is a Florida State Park located on the northwestern Florida coast, approximately southwest of Pensacola on Gulf Beach Highway. It encompasses the northern boundary of Big Lagoon as it snakes towa ...

* Henderson Beach State Park *

Grayton Beach State Park Grayton Beach State Park is a Florida State Park located between Panama City Beach and Destin, near the unincorporated area of Grayton Beach, on CR 30A, in northwestern Florida. Its sister park is Deer Lake State Park. The of land for the p ...

* St. Andrews State Park *

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is a Florida State Park on the St. Joseph Peninsula near Port St. Joe. It is located off U.S. 98. Recreational activities The park has such amenities as beaches, picnicking areas, cabins, ...

* St. George Island State Park Both state and federal parks offer facilities for camping, picnicking, and other recreational pursuits. In addition, some parts of the coastline are federal property belonging to

Pensacola Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 9 ...

, and

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

, and so are likewise protected from commercial development. In addition, seven state aquatic preserves, covering thousands of acres of submerged lands in coastal areas, are located in the Panhandle. A number of other state parks, preserves, and forests are located inland. The 1970s also saw the beginnings of a number of upscale beach

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

towers,

vacation homes A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

, and

planned communities Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...

, such as Seaside and Sandestin, so that most of the privately owned areas of the coastline are now heavily developed.

Military bases

Major military bases include the

(the home of

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Spe ...

near Ft. Walton Beach, Naval Support Activity Panama City in Panama City Beach, and

near

. Smaller military bases in the Florida panhandle include the

Center for Information Warfare Training The United States Navy's Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) is one of the learning centers of Naval Education and Training Command, headquartered on Naval Air Station Pensacola Corry Station in Escambia County, Florida. It is responsi ...

in Pensacola, Naval Air Station Whiting Field near Milton and

Duke Field Duke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. History Duke Field was one of the f ...

near Crestview. The 1983-84 television show ''

Emerald Point N.A.S. ''Emerald Point N.A.S'' is an American primetime soap opera created by '' Dynasty''s Richard and Esther Shapiro which premiered on CBS on Monday, September 26, 1983. The series revolved around the lives of personnel stationed on a naval air sta ...

'' was set in a naval air station somewhere in the American South, similar to Pensacola NAS. The 1997-2000 action/adventure series '' Pensacola: Wings of Gold'' was explicitly set there.

Notes

References

External links

Outdoor Gulf Coast – Online recreation for Northwest Florida

Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau – Official online travel planning resource for Panama City Beach

Historic Pensacola Village and T. T. Wentworth, Jr., State Museum

Bibliography

* DeBolt, Dean. "The Florida Panhandle," pp. 404–445 in ''The Book Lover's Guide to Florida'', ed. Kevin M. McCarthy. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, 1992. (Contains an extensive bibliography of fiction and nonfiction works about people and places in the Panhandle.) * Hollis, Tim. ''Florida’s Miracle Strip: From Redneck Riviera to Emerald Coast''. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. * Jahoda, Gloria. ''The Other Florida''. Scribner, 1967. * King, Heidi Tyline. ''The Pelican Guide to the Florida Panhandle''. Pelican Publishing, 1999. * O'Donovan, Michael, and Robin Rowan. ''Florida's Northwest: First Places, Wild Places, Favorite Places''. Terra Nova Publishing, 2005. * Ziewitz, Kathryn, and June Wiaz. ''Green Empire: The St. Joe Company and the Remaking of Florida's Panhandle''. University Press of Florida, 2006. {{Coord, 30.43, -85.19, type:landmark_region:US-FL, display=title Regions of Florida North Florida

Coastal regions

Emerald Coast

Forgotten Coast

Physical features

History

19th century

Alabama annexation proposals

20th century

21st century

Economy

Transportation

Road

Rail

Air

Education

Politics

Culture and sports

Counties

Cities and towns

Beaches

Military bases

See also

Notes

References

External links

Bibliography