Florida Panhandle

Florida Panhandle (" panhandle Florida") is the name for the northwestern tip of the US state Florida . It extends over a length of about 370 km and a width of 60 to 140 km between Alabama and Georgia in the north and the Gulf of Mexico in the south and does not belong to the Florida peninsula. Also culturally, the region is more like the classic southern states .

Politically , the Florida Panhandle consists of the following counties :

Bay County Calhoun County Escambia County Franklin County Gadsden County Gulf County Holmes County Jackson County

Jefferson County Leon County Liberty County Okaloosa County Santa Rosa County Wakulla County Walton County Washington County

Occasionally Madison and Taylor , the two easternmost of the counties colored in red in the figure, are also included in the Florida Panhandle.

Major cities of the Panhandle are Pensacola , Panama City and Tallahassee . The beach resorts attract large numbers of college students during the spring break . The air force bases at Eglin Air Force Base and Tyndall Air Force Base are also located there . Interstate 10 runs through the area in an east-west direction .

The Apalachicola National Forest, designated in 1936, is also located in this area.

The time zone boundary between the eastern (UTC − 5) and central (UTC − 6) time zones of the United States runs along the Apalachicola River and thus directly through the Florida Panhandle.