Forget about whales, dolphins, minnows and sharks or killer whales for a bit.
Today you will learn about another marine creature and its environment, the manatee.
While billions of people around the world wish they could visit a place like Florida, unfortunately we all know that its almost impossible for all to do so.

Since I am lucky and fortunate to live here in Florida, I thought I'd share a little bit about my back yard that a lot of people don't know about.

• As one of the world's most desired places to visit, I feel that it's my duty as one of its inhabitants to educate or at least point you to some information about Florida.
• With millions of visitors every year, education is key to preserving our natural wonders.

As with most history rich places in the world, there is a lot of information about Florida.

As a member of the Internet, I know how it is to look at a long post. As soon as you click the link, you are quickly looking for the back button. Don't be discouraged as knowledge is power.

This post is not so much for entertainment but its more educational.

I will try to keep this simple and as short as possible by providing links that you can look at yourself and as many pictures as I can.

History of Florida

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida

Too much information to summarize… but I suggest you take a look at it.

Tourism

During Florida's early days, only wealthy and famous people could afford to vacation there. Some were so fond of Florida that they decided to stay and farm or start another business. Henry S. Flagler was one of those people who fell in love with the Sunshine State and he decided to invest in Florida after a visit in 1883. He began to invest his wealth by building hotels and railroads in Florida. As the railroads grew, it was easier for people to travel to Florida. By 1890, the railways were completed and travel to Florida was made easy for people as far away as New York.
In the early 1900s, thousand of tourists were coming to Florida. They came to stay in the new hotels, rest in the warm weather, enjoy the natural beauty, and some even came to recover from illnesses. Many wealthy people, such as Thomas Edison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Henry Ford, built winter homes in Florida and visited for months at a time.
The invention of the automobile also made travel easier for people. As cars became less expensive and people had more leisure time, more people had time to go on vacation. Hotels and resorts were still expensive, so some travelers brought their own beds and food. They slept in their cars. Since their food was usually in tin cans, these travelers were known as "tin-can tourists."
In the 1930s, airlines opened up travel schedules to Florida. This provided the way for even more tourists to travel to Florida. Airports were built in major cities, making travel easier for tourists into and around Florida.
In the 1930s, architects designed buildings in Miami Beach in a style called Art Deco. This cheerful, colorful style was popular in the Depression era. Visitors are still attracted to the Art Deco district.
After World War II, the tourist industry quickly became Florida's biggest source of income. At first, the only thing for tourists to see was the natural beauty of Florida. The miles of white sandy beaches, the Everglades with its alligators, panthers and birds, the Florida Keys, with its coral reefs and sport fishing, and the forests of the national parks attracted many nature lovers. There were activities such as fishing, hiking, boating, and swimming taking place throughout the state, but above all, the visitors came to soak up the sun and relax.
There are theme parks built all over Florida. In 1971, Florida became home to one of the largest resorts in the world, Walt Disney World Resort. In the first year, this 28,000-acre park brought about $14 billion dollars to Orlando's economy. This one resort is like a city in itself. It includes Disney's Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, the MGM Movie Studio center, Camp Wilderness, Islands of Adventure, and Animal Kingdom. This theme park has continued to grow throughout the last thirty years and has encouraged other developers to build many other attractions in Florida.
In addition to Walt Disney World Resort, the Orlando area is also home to Sea World, Cypress Gardens, and Universal Studios. In fact, Orlando is the biggest vacation spot in Florida. On the west coast, Busch Gardens and Lowry Park Zoo are two popular attractions. Tampa Bay has hosted two Super Bowl Games. On the east coast is Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport USA. With the popularity of boat cruises increasing, Florida waters have become a major location for people taking cruises in the Caribbean.

Source - http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/tourism/tourism1.htm
All of the information above (Tourism) was copied and pasted from the link above for informational purposes.

Economic Strengths:

• International Trade (40% of all U.S. exports to Latin and South America pass through Florida)
• Tourism — with 87.3 million visitors in 2011 (a record number), Florida is the top travel destination in the world. The tourism industry has an economic impact of $67 billion on Floridas economy.
• Space Industry — The space industry represents $4.1 billion of the state's economy. The average annual wage of aerospace workers is approximately $67,000. The number employed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) alone is 13,000 and Florida ranks 4th among the states in overall aerospace employment with 33,000 jobs.
• Agriculture — Florida leads the southeast in farm income. Florida produces about 67% of the U.S. oranges and accounts for about 40% of the world's orange juice supply.
• Construction — This industry's strength results from the steady stream of new residents and visitors who are welcomed to Florida each year.
• Services — growth in high tech, financial & back office operations
• Software — many small, entrepreneurial companies
• Health Technology (medical, biotech, laboratories)
• University Research — more than $500 million per year in sponsored research at Florida universities
  Source - http://www.stateofflorida.com/facts.aspx

Florida Geography

• Total Area — 58,560 Square Miles
• Land Area — 54,252 Square Miles
• Total Water Area — 4,308 Square Miles
• Rank Among States in Total Area — 22nd<
• Length North to South — 447 Miles
• Width East to West — 361 Miles
• Distance from Pensacola to Key West — 792 Miles by Road
• Highest Natural Point — 345 Feet near Lakewood in Walton County
• Geographic Center — 12 miles northwest of Brooksville, Hernando County
• Coastline — 1,197 Statute Miles
• Tidal Shoreline — 2,276 Statute Miles
• Beaches — 663 Miles
• Florida has more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams & waterways
• Longest River — St. Johns at 273 miles
• Largest Lake — Lake Okeechobee at 700 square miles (the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the United States)
• Largest County — Palm Beach at 2,578 square miles
• Smallest County — Union at 245 square miles
• Number of Lakes greater than 10 acres — Aprox. 7,700
• Number of First Magnitude Springs — 27 (Florida has more first magnitude springs than any other state.) “Fountain * of youth” lol read the history on the wiki link abouve :)
• Number of Islands Greater than 10 Acres — Aprox. 4,500 (Florida ranks 2nd in the nation by this measure and only Alaska ranks higher.)
  Source - http://www.stateofflorida.com/facts.aspx

Get to the point!!

There are a few things I've learned from life in the few short years that I have been alive. One of them is that "you don't know what you have until its gone"
That couldn’t be anymore true. We often get so caught up in the present that we forget to preserve it for future generations to also enjoy.

Manatee Park

All pictures below were taken at manatee park.

Murals by Jaime Quintero

Good Kidz Mad Cities - Dream Defenders

All photos were taken at Manatee Park in Fort Myers, Florida (except for heading photo)

You made it to the end!!! (:

Thank you for reading

Other Atractions at Manatee Park

https://steemit.com/steemit/@echoesinthemind/the-game-proof-of-concept

Butterfly Garden - https://steemit.com/photography/@echoesinthemind/butterfly-garden

Beautiful flowers - https://steemit.com/nature/@echoesinthemind/most-beautiful-flower-i-have-ever-seen

####Follow (: