Halifax area | |
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Major cities | Daytona Beach |
Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5 |
The Daytona Beach-Port Orange Urbanized Area, in the Halifax area. | |
The Halifax area or simply Daytona is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the area around Daytona Beach. It is roughly coextensive with the Daytona Beach metropolitan area and Volusia County. There have been a number of attempts to establish a regional identity for Daytona, including dubbing it the "Surf Coast" and "Fun Coast". The name "Halifax area" refers to the Halifax River, which runs through Daytona Beach and other nearby municipalities.
The area around the Halifax River saw continuous settlement in the late 19th century, and gained international fame for its beaches and automobile racing beginning in the early 20th century. However, it was several decades before a popular regional identity for the wider area emerged. Today, the region is usually known as simply "Daytona", or the "Halifax area". [1]
As with several other parts of Florida, there have been several attempts to create a regional identity for the Halifax area. These usually involve the term "Coast", as with the Gold Coast, the Space Coast, and the First Coast. In the 1970s tourism promoters marketed the area as the "Surf Coast". The concept was subsequently adopted by the wider community, appearing in publications of the period and in a 1982 survey of Florida's regions by geographers Ary J. Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski. Over time, however, use and recognition of the "Surf Coast" declined. A 2007 follow-up survey by Lamme and Oldakowski found that it had become one of the least known of Florida's regions, being mentioned explicitly by only one respondent, and appearing only infrequently in publications and promotional materials for the area. [2]
In the 1990s promoters initiated a campaign to dub the region the "Fun Coast". This particular branding had previously been attempted for the St. Petersburg area in the 1980s [3] and Fort Lauderdale in 1993. [4] By 1995 promoters pushed to sell Volusia and Flagler Counties together as the "Fun Coast". [5] In 1999, when the Halifax area was preparing to split from area code 904, the Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce lobbied to claim the previously unassigned "386", spelling "FUN" on a telephone keypad, as their new code. This measure, supported by various government officials, agencies, and residents, was successful, and area code 386 was created to cover the area around Daytona as well as a non-contiguous part of North Central Florida. [6]
Regardless of these campaigns, "Halifax area" or "Daytona" remain the common way of referring to the region by local organizations. [1]
Volusia County is a county located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2010 census. It was founded on December 29, 1854, from part of Orange County, and was named for the community of Volusia, located in northwestern Volusia County. Its first county seat was Enterprise. Since 1887, its county seat has been DeLand.
Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area, and is a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida.
New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The downtown section of the city is located on the west side of the Indian River and the Indian River Lagoon system. The Coronado Beach Bridge crosses the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Ponce de Leon Inlet, connecting the mainland with the beach on the coastal barrier island. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau.
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It consists roughly of the counties abutting Jacksonville—Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns—and nearby Flagler County and Putnam County. The name originated in a marketing campaign in the 1980s, and has become part of Florida's regional vernacular.
Area codes 850 and 448 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for the Florida panhandle, including Pensacola, Tallahassee and Panama City. Area code 850 was created in 1997 in a split from 904, and area code 448 was assigned as a second code to the same area in an overlay plan in 2019, and mandatory ten-digit local calling began in May 2021.
South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of the continental United States and the only region of the continental U.S. that includes some areas with a tropical climate.
Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Greater Orlando area, though in recent times the Tampa Bay area has often been described as its own region, with "central Florida" becoming more synonymous with the Orlando area.
The Treasure Coast is a region in the southeast of the U.S. state of Florida. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and comprises Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties. The region, whose name refers to the Spanish Treasure Fleet that was lost in a 1715 hurricane, evidently emerged from residents' desire to distinguish themselves from the Gold Coast to the south.
Area codes 407 and 689 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the city of Orlando and surrounding areas in the U.S. state of Florida. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties, as well as small portions of Volusia and Lake counties.
Area code 386 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan in the U.S. state of Florida. The numbering plan area comprises the counties of Columbia, Flagler, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, Union, the vast majority of Volusia County, and smaller portions of Alachua County and Putnam County. The Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area is the most populous metro area in 386. It is one of the few area codes in North America that is not contiguous. The area code was created in an area code split of 904 on February 15, 2001.
Daytona State College (DSC) is a public college with its main campus in Daytona Beach, Florida. DSC also has 6 smaller regional campuses throughout Volusia and Flagler counties. It is part of the Florida College System.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties.
The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, during the British occupation of Florida (1763–1784).
Area codes 904 and 324 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for most of the First Coast (northeast) region of the U.S. state of Florida. The numbering plan area comprises most of the metropolitan area of Jacksonville. It includes all of Duval County, St. Johns County, Nassau County, and Baker County, and almost all of Clay County. Area code 904 was created in an area code split of area code 305 in 1965. In 2024, the numbering plan received a second area code, 324, through the creation of an overlay complex to mitigate central office code exhaustion and provide additional telephone numbers in the area.
The Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in central and the north portions of Florida consisting of Volusia and Flagler counties in the state of Florida. As of 2013, it is the 88th-largest MSA in the United States, with a census-estimated population of 600,756.
The Tomoka River is a north-flowing river in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It drains an area of about 110 square miles (280 km2) and has a length of 19.6 miles (31.5 km).
The Granada Bridge is a high-clearance bridge that spans the Halifax River and Intracoastal Waterway, linking the mainland and beach peninsula parts of Ormond Beach, Volusia County, Florida. Granada Bridge carries four lanes of State Road 40 and Granada Blvd. The Casements, along with City Hall Plaza, Fortunato Park, and Riverbridge Park reside at the four corners of Ormond Beach's Granada Bridge, which give their collective name to the annual "Four Corners Festival" in Ormond Beach.
North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and nearby localities in Northeast Florida, an interior region known as North Central Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. North Florida is considered to be part of the Southern United States.
The Veterans Memorial Bridge, commonly called the Orange Avenue Bridge, spans the Halifax River and Intracoastal Waterway in Daytona Beach, Florida, Volusia County, Florida. The bridge carries vehicles across two lanes of CR 4050 from Orange Avenue and Silver Beach Avenue.