However, Tampa is not considered to be the region of South Florida. The population of Tampa is approximately 392,800, making it the third largest city in Florida and the 53rd largest city in the United States. Tampa is part of the metropolitan area more commonly known as the Tampa Bay Area, which has an approximate population of 3.It is located on the west coast of Florida with an average annual temperature of 73.1 degrees. Tampa's economy is based on a diverse base that includes tourism, agriculture, construction, finance, healthcare, government, technology, and the port of Tampa, which is the largest port in the state of Florida.
When Tampa began to grow in the mid-19th century, the highways that crossed central Florida were still rugged trails and railroad lines still didn't extend across the Florida Peninsula, so the most convenient way to travel to and from the area was by sea. With more than 8 million residents and more than 60 million visitors a year, all of Central Florida is the state's fastest-growing region, and is expected to outpace South Florida's growth by more than 2 to 1 over the next few years (U. In the early 20th century, traveling overland between the growing communities around Tampa Bay was an arduous process. You could say it's an extension of the Tampa Bay Area or something of its own, in which case an argument for South Florida would be compelling. Both schools were founded when South Florida was Tampa and the only city that was really south of there was Sarasota and Miami.
Tampa Bay was formed approximately 6,000 years ago as a flooded brackish river valleylike estuary with a wide mouth connecting it to the Gulf of Mexico. The shores of Tampa Bay were home to Weeden Island culture and then Safety Harbor culture for thousands of years. Today, the area is home to about 4 million people, making Tampa Bay a widely used commercial and recreational waterway, subjecting it to increasing amounts of pollutants from industry, agriculture, wastewater and surface runoff. It amazes me that you consider Cape Coral Central Florida while considering Naples to be part of South Florida.
The term Tampa Bay is often used as an abbreviation to refer to all or part of the Tampa Bay area, which comprises many towns and cities in several counties surrounding the large body of water. The bottom of Tampa Bay is silty and sandy, with an average water depth of only about 12 feet (3.7 m). Fort Brooke spawned Tampa on the northeast coast, Fort Harrison (a minor military post on the west coast of Florida) spawned Clearwater, the trading post of Braden's Town became Bradenton in the south, and St. More bridges crossed Tampa Bay over the following decades, making travel between surrounding communities much faster and promoting the economic development of the Tampa Bay area.
The effects of Hurricane Milton in October 2024 caused contaminated waste from the fertilizer industry, including Mosaic products, which were preserved after phosphate production, to reach Tampa Bay. The Corps of Engineers currently maintains more than 80 miles of deepwater channels in Tampa Bay to a depth of 47 feet. Pete-Clearwater International Airport was established on opposite sides of old Tampa Bay, and MacDill Air Force Base opened at the southern end of the Interbay Peninsula from Tampa.
