Tampa

The city of Tampa, Florida serves a population of roughly 335,709 as the seat for Hillsborough County.

Indigenous peoples initially lived within the area presently known as the city of Tampa. The Tocobaga tribe was the area's most recent inhabitants. The Spanish explored the region in the early part of the 16th century, but it was not until 1824 that a permanent settlement was established. A United States Army outpost called Fort Brooke was constructed at the place where the Tampa Convention Center currently stands. A small group of pioneers settled in the vicinity seeking protection from the Seminole Native American people. The village was called Tampa.

The city is a tourist place and features numerous cultural and natural attractions. The natural assets of the city comprise the ocean, white sand beaches and a tropical type of weather. There are lots of visitors and residents that come to enjoy different water sports, like for example jet skiing, boating, parasailing and sport fishing. Attractions consist of Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium and Channelside shopping. tourists to the historic Ybor City, northeast of downtown Tampa, could explore this Latin American quarter well-known for its cigar factories. Professional sports teams comprise Tampa Lightning, Bay Bucaneers and Devil Rays. There are many festivals within the city of Tampa; one of the most unique is the Gasparilla Pirate Festival held in the latter part of the month of January.

There are many fine museums within the city of Tampa, like for instance Pioneer Florida Museum, the Salvador Dali Museum, Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins, St. Petersburg Museum of History, Boatyard Village, the Children's Museum of Tampa and the Gulf Coast World Science. The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Tampa Theater have a lot of excellent performances. Live theater is likewise staged at the Gorilla Theatre within Drew park and Friday Morning Musicale in Hyde Park. Top galleries consist of African Art gallery, the Centre Gallery, Graphicstudio, Artists Unlimited and Covivant Gallery.

Tampa is amongst the most integrated, diverse urban regions in the US. 10% of the people are Latino and local culture is heavily influenced by this large Hispanic population.

The major industries in the city of Tampa aside from tourism, include: defense and marine electronics, aviation, financial services, business and information services, marine sciences, port/maritime and manufacturing. The Tampa Bay area economy is considerably affected by three seaports situated here. The Port of Tampa is the 12th biggest cargo port in the US. Main cruise lines operate from this port. The seaports employ approximately 130,000 individuals. In total, these ports contribute around $15 billion dollars every year to the local economy.