Miami is an important city in the south-eastern United States and is located in the largest metropolitan area in Florida. The earliest evidence of Native American settlement in the Miami region came from about 10,000 years ago. Miami was named after the Mayaimis, a Native American tribe who lived in the area until the 17^th or 18^th century. The tribe took the name from Lake Okeechobee, which was called Mayaimis (“big water”). In 1513, Juan Ponce de León was the first European man to visit the Miami area by sailing into Biscayne Bay.

In the 1870s investors and developers from the mid-west moved into the area, claiming old titles and buying land. The city of Miami was founded on July 28, in 1896. Julia Tuttle, nicknamed the "Mother of Miami", convinced Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler to extend his railroad from central Florida to Miami by building a luxury hotel and making a new town. She reportedly sent him perfect Miami orange blossoms during a crop freeze. The railroad arrived in 1896 and the City of Miami was incorporated on July 28 that same year.

Up to World War II, Miami experienced rapid growth but by the early 1940^s, the city was still recovering from the Great Depression. The Cuban migration in the 1960^s transformed Miami into an international city. In the 1980^s, it became one of the United States' largest transshipment places for the drug industry from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, an aspect that brought billions of dollars for the local economy. In the latter half of the 2000–2010 decade, Miami has seen an extensive boom of high-rise architecture, dubbed a "Miami Manhattanization" wave. During this time, many of the tallest buildings were built. It is estimated that Miami is home to over 150 ethnic groups and 60 languages.

In the past, famous pirates such as Blackbeard, Gasparilla, and Lafitte were regular visitors. Caches of gold and silver have been uncovered on and off land in the Miami area. Miami was often the location for a variety of films, such as “Goldfinger’, “Scarface”, ‘There’s something about Mary”, “True Lies”, “The Birdcage”, “2 Fast 2 Furious” and ”Bad Boys”.

The coastal resort Miami Beach is a man-made island that was once a Coconut Grove Plantation. Is also known as “America’s Riviera” and has a large snow skiing club. Before Miami Beach became one of the most famous beaches in the world, it used to be a swampland, then back in the 1920’s development began and changed the area completely, making it a world-famous tourist destination. At the beginning of the 1900^s, when a powerful hurricane hit Miami, it split the southern end of Miami Beach creating Government Cut and what is now known as Fisher Island. Tourists can find over 800 separate Art Deco structures on Miami Beach, which makes it the world’s largest collection of this style of building.

Little Havana, Star Island, and the Venetian Islands, the Port of Miami, the Frost Art Museum, the Venetian Pool, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the Miami Zoo or the Miami Seaquarium. Tourists can also visit the city through organized sightseeing tours and can rent yacht charters, boats, and balloons, and can practice diverse water sports. Other places of recreation are the largest marine park - Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park, the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne, or many tennis and golf courts.

Miami it’s known for the Latin cuisine (especially Cuban, such as chicken, lamb stews or the Cuban coffee), but also dishes from South American countries. The meat is usually cooked in tomato sauce with vegetables and served on rice. Other important dishes are fried pork chops, grilled fish, "Sangria", rice with tomatoes, peppers, and onions, and the traditional African dish called "gumbo" (seafood soup served with crab or prawn and rice). Popular drinks include Cuba Libre and Mojito.

Miami has a tropical climate, with sunshine. The annual average daily temperature is 23 °C. The wet season begins in May and ends in mid-October. Miami reports more strong thunderstorms than most US cities. These storms have lightning and very heavy rain and can have damaging straight-line winds and large hail.

Miami is served by Miami International Airport (MIA or Wilcox Field) located just west of the city, with over 33 million travelers (the 25th-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic). An additional alternative to MAI is the Lauderdale Airport or Palm Beach Airport. Tourists that choose cruises can arrive or depart from Miami through Port Miami (the Cruise Capital of the World, with over 3.5 million annual passengers), Port of Key West, or the Everglades Port.

Did you know? ..... 10 Interesting Facts about Miami

1. Miami is the only major city in the United States founded by a woman (Julia Tuttle - an American businesswoman).
2. Miami has more than 800 parks and is the only city in the USA that is bordered by two separate National Parks – Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park.
3. The first suntan lotion was invented by Miami Beach pharmacist, Benjamin Green, in 1944.
4. Miami Beach is also known as the “Wreck Diving Capital of the Americas’ due to a large number of wrecks.
5. Miami was a popular place for pirates to visit and bury their treasures or robbing vessels sailing to and from Biscayne Bay throughout the “Golden Age of Piracy” in the Caribbean (1600′s -1740). Reports of empty drifting yachts and boats suggest that even today piracy is not dead in the area.
6. In 2008, the City of Miami was ranked number 1 Cleanest City in America by Forbes Magazine.
7. Miami is the Wreck-rational Diving Capital of the World, containing over 50 wreck sites where tourists can dive, such as ships, oil platforms, or army tanks.
8. Miami has the first cruise/passenger ship port in the world, The Port of Miami in Biscayne Bay.
9. Miami Beach was a mangrove swamp before the development started in the 1920^s.
10. Miami is home to the world's only Everglades Eco-system (a natural area of tropical wetlands).