North Central Florida is a region 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 ...

which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the North Florida counties of Alachua, Marion, Putnam,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cove ...

, Gilchrist,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

, Lafayette, Levy,

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 ...

, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union. The region's largest city is Gainesville, home of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and center of the

Gainesville metropolitan area Gainesville is the name of several places in the United States of America: * Gainesville, Alabama * Gainesville, Arkansas * Gainesville, Florida, the largest municipality with this name * Gainesville, Georgia * Gainesville, Missouri * Gainesville ( ...

, which is the largest metro area in North Central Florida. As of 2020, the region had a population of 575,622 people. Like the rest of North Florida, including the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the ...

, the region is often recognized as part of 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 ...

, as compared to the rest of the state. Gainesville Metropolitan Area

The landscape and climate of North Central Florida are distinct from the sub-tropical environment most associated with the rest of the state. The landscape of North Central Florida has gently rolling hills dominated by

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

trees and large Southern live oak hammocks draped with Spanish moss. The region also has large expanses of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

forests. The climate is quite mild throughout the year but has very distinct winters with temperatures dropping below freezing quite often.

Cities and towns

Economy

As of 2016, the region had Florida's largest concentration of 18 to 44-year-olds and people with advanced degrees thanks to the presence of the

and Santa Fe College in Gainesville. The City of Alachua is home to one of the State's largest bio and life science corporate sectors. Overall, education and healthcare are the leading employers in the region as several major hospitals are located in Gainesville such as the

UF Health Shands Hospital UF Health Shands Hospital is a teaching hospital of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is one of seven hospitals in the University of Florida Health system, and one of two campuses for UF's Health Science Center, the other bei ...

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital
and th
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Tourism is central to communities such as Cedar Key, White Springs, and Micanopy. Leading employers as of 2016 are:

Education

The following institutions of higher education are located within North Central Florida: * University of Florida - Gainesville * Santa Fe College - Gainesville, Alachua, Starke, Archer *

Florida Gateway College Florida Gateway College (FGC), formerly Lake City Community College, is a public college in Lake City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and one of the institutions in the system designated a "state college", allowing it to offe ...

- Lake City * North Florida College - Madison, Live Oak *

College of Central Florida The College of Central Florida (CF) is a public college with campuses in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1957 as Central Florida Junior College, CF has grown to span three counties and inc ...

- Chiefland
North Florida Technical College
- Starke
City College Gainesville

Culture

North Central Florida is world-renowned for its fresh water springs and rivers which make it one of the best cave diving regions in the world. Several of the springs are connected to the Suwannee and Santa Fe River systems, some of the more popular being: * Ginnie Springs * Wes Skiles Peacock Springs * Devil's Den
Blue Grotto Dive Resort
* Manatee Springs There are a large number of nature parks and cultural centers throughout the area such as: *

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park is a Florida State Park located in White Springs off U.S. 41, along the Suwannee River in north Florida. Stephen Foster is famous for having written the song "Old Folks At Home," also known as "Way ...

* Big Shoals State Park * Suwanee River State Park *

Ichetucknee Springs State Park Ichetucknee Springs State Park is a Florida State Park and National Natural Landmark located 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Fort White off State Road 47 and State Road 238. It centers around the 6-mile-long (10 km) Ichetucknee River, w ...

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park is a Florida State Park located in the north-westernmost part of Gainesville, Florida, off County Road 232, also known as NW 53rd Avenue and Millhopper Road, northwest of the University of Florida. The pa ...

Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, encompassing a savanna in Alachua County, Florida lying between Micanopy and Gainesville. It is also a U.S. National Natural Landmark. It is crossed by both I-75 and U.S. 441 (which h ...

Florida pioneer life in the 1800s is the focus at both Morningside Nature Center and

Dudley Farm Historic State Park Dudley Farm Historic State Park (Florida), also known as Dudley Farm, is a U.S. historic district and museum park located in Newberry, Florida. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 2002, and was designated ...

. There are several small, turn-of-the-century towns that represent the culture of the Deep South and are geared toward tourists: * Cedar Key * White Springs * Steinhatchee * Micanopy *

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

Several museums of note spanning topics such as local and natural history, science, and art are: *

Florida Museum of Natural History The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) is Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural-history museum. Its main facilities are located at 3215 Hull Road on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The main pub ...

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art The Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art is an art museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It is in the UF Cultural Plaza area in the southwest part of campus. The Harn is a 112,800-square-foot-facility, making it one of the largest un ...

* Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention
P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History

University Galleries

Gainesville Fine Arts Association Gallery
*

Matheson History Museum The Matheson History Museum Complex is located in Gainesville, Florida. It includes the Matheson History Museum, the Matheson Library & Archives, the 1867 Matheson House, and the Tison Tool Barn. Museum Complex Matheson History Museum The M ...

The Historic Thomas Center
* Cedar Key Museum State Park * Micanopy Historical Society Museum * Forest Capital Museum State Park Gainesville is home to notable performing arts venues like the

Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Gal ...

, University Auditorium, Constans Theater, and The Hippodrome Theater.br>The Gainesville Orchestra
has been performing regularly since 1983. The most popular sporting events are the major sports associated with the University of Florida in Gainesville, including Florida Gator Football,

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

Gatornationals The Gatornationals is an annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national drag racing event held each March at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida. The event was held for the first time in 1970. The traditional East Coast opener and t ...

is one of the most important annual drag races for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).

References

{{coord missing, Florida Regions of Florida Geography of Gainesville, Florida Alachua County, Florida Gilchrist County, Florida Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida *