Pensacola

Sister cities

• Miraflores
• Chimbote
• Kaohsiung

History

The original inhabitants of the Pensacola Bay area were Native American peoples. At the time of European contact, a Muskogean-speaking tribe known to the Spanish as the Pensacola, lived in the region. This name was not recorded until 1677, but the tribe appears to be the source of the name "Pensacola" for the bay and thence the city. Creek people, also Muskogean-speaking, came regularly from present-day southern Alabama to trade, so the peoples were part of a broader regional and even continental network of relations. The area's written recorded history begins in the 16th century, with documentation by Spanish explorers, who were the first Europeans to reach the area. The expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539 both visited Pensacola Bay, the latter of which documented the name "Bay of Ochuse". In the Age of Sail, Pensacola was the busiest port on the Gulf Coast, having the deepest harbor. On August 15, 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano landed with some 1,500 people on 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico. The expedition was to establish an outpost, ultimately called Santa María de Ochuse by Luna, as a base for Spanish efforts to colonize Santa Elena (present-day Parris Island, South Carolina), but the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559, The Spanish built three presidios in Pensacola: * Presidio Santa Maria de Galve (1698–1719): The presidio included fort San Carlos de Austria (east of present-day Fort Barrancas) and a village with church. but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. After years of settlement there, the Spanish ceded Florida to the British in 1763 as a result of an exchange following British victory over both France and Spain in the French and Indian War (the North American theater of the Seven Years'…

Geography

Pensacola is located on the north side of Pensacola Bay. It is east of Mobile, Alabama, and west of Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. Although the incorporated city limits of Pensacola are relatively small, numerous census-designated places (CDPs) are located immediately outside of the incorporated city limits that are widely considered to be Pensacola. Due to their proximity to the city limits, their mailing addresses are listed as Pensacola, with a lack of independent government services apart from Pensacola and Escambia County. While residents of these CDPs have rejected incorporation into Pensacola in previous referendums, they largely identify as residents of Pensacola. Examples of these CDPs include Goulding, Ferry Pass, Ensley, Bellview, Myrtle Grove, Warrington, Brent, and West Pensacola. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 44.62%, is water. Weather statistics since the late 20th century have been recorded at the airport. The city has seen single-digit temperatures (below ) on three occasions: on January 21, 1985; on February 13, 1899; and on January 11, 1982. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Pensacola has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), with short, mild winters and hot, humid summers. Typical summer conditions have highs in the lower 90s °F (32–34 °C) and lows in the mid-70s °F (23–24 °C). Afternoon or evening thunderstorms are common during the summer months. Due partly to the coastal location, temperatures above are relatively rare and last occurred in June 2011, when two of the first four days of the month recorded highs reaching the century mark. The highest temperature ever recorded in the city was on July 14, 1980. when a low of was…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,568
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,842
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,528
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  10,090
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,642
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  9,153
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  8,092
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,723

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2020-09-03
  1 km W of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.6 — 2019-04-12
  13 km NW of Flomaton, Alabama
• M 3.1 — 2019-04-11
  6 km NNW of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.5 — 2019-04-11
  8 km NW of Pollard, Alabama
• M 2.7 — 2019-03-24
  2 km ESE of Century, Florida
• M 3.1 — 2019-03-11
  4 km N of Flomaton, Alabama