Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the continental United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968. The consolidation gave Jacksonville its great size and placed most of its metropolitan population within the city limits; as a result it is the most populous city proper in Florida and the thirteenth most populous in the United States. Jacksonville is the principal city in the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, a region with a population of more than 1,313,228.
Jacksonville is located in the First Coast region of northeast Florida and is centered on the banks of the St. Johns River, about 25 miles south of the Georgia border and about 340 miles north of Miami. The Jacksonville Beaches communities are located along the adjacent Atlantic coast. The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States. During Florida's British period a community grew at the narrow point in the river where cattle crossed, known as Wacca Pilatka to the Indians and Cowford to the British. The settlement was incorporated as a town in 1822, a year after the United States acquired the colony of Florida from Spain, and renamed after Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and seventh President of the United States.
Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port. Its riverine location facilitates two U.S. Navy bases and the Port of Jacksonville, Florida's third largest seaport. Significant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insurance, and healthcare. As with much of Florida, tourism is also important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to golf.
