How to take the ultimate Florida road trip nationalgeographic.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalgeographic.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Help protect wildlife by slowing down and being attentive, especially when passing yellow animal-crossing signs, which indicate you're driving through wildlife habitats.
Sarasota, city, seat (1921) of Sarasota county, west-central Florida, U.S. It lies along Sarasota Bay (an arm of the Gulf of Mexico), about 60 miles (95 km) south of Tampa. Sarasota, variously spelled Sara Zota, Sarazota, and Sarasote, appeared on maps in the 1700s, but the origin of the place-name is uncertain; one explanation is that it may have been derived from a Spanish term meaning “a place of dancing.” The first settler arrived in 1856 and planted orange trees. Scottish settlers came in 1884 and two years later built a golf course. With the arrival of the railroad in