Southwest Florida is the region along the south west gulf coast of the U.S. State of Florida. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally considered to put it south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee, and mostly north of the Everglades and to include Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. For some purposes, the inland counties of DeSoto, Glades, and Hendry, and the thinly populated mainland section Monroe County, south of Collier, are also included.
The region includes the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area (sometimes alternately considered a part of the Tampa Bay Area to the north), the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Naples-Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area. The most populous county in the region is Lee County, and the region's largest city is Cape Coral with a population of 154,305 as of 2010.
Read more about Southwest Florida: Development, Government, Tourism, Florida Gulf Coast University, Spring Training, Area Codes, Counties, Major Incorporated Cities, Major Unincorporated Communities
Famous quotes containing the word florida:
“In Florida consider the flamingo,
Its color passion but its neck a question.”
—Robert Penn Warren (1905–1989)