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Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL MSA
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Location of metropolitan area in the state of Florida
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| Major cities | Miami, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
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Area
- Total
- Water |
15,896 km² (6,137 mi²)
2,621 km² (1,011 mi²) 16.49%
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Population
- Total (2000)
- Density
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5,007,564
315/km² (1,571/mi²)
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| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5
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The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area, more commonly referred to as South Florida or the Tri-County Area, encompasses a tri-county area of southeastern Florida.
According to the 2000 census, the conurbation (which is officially known as the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL MSA) has a population of 5,007,564, making it the sixth largest metropolitan area in the United States.
Counties
Cities
Primary cities
Suburbs with 100,000 or more inhabitants
Suburbs with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants
Suburbs with less than 10,000 inhabitants
Transportation and commerce
The South Florida metropolitan area is served by five major interstate highways operated by the Florida Department of Transportation in conjunction with local agencies. The busiest of the five, I-95, is the chief and most heavily-traveled artery during rush hour traffic, and runs north to south along the coast. I-75 runs east to west, turning south in western Broward County; it connects suburban North Miami-Dade to Naples on the west coast via Alligator Alley, which transverses the Florida Everglades before turning north. I-595 connects the Broward coast to I-75 and Alligator Alley. I-195 connects the main I-95 route and the Airport Expressway (S.R. 112) to Biscayne Boulevard and Miami Beach, which located across Biscayne Bay. I-395, also known as the Dolphin (East to West) Expressway or the (State Road) 836, runs east to west and connect the I-95 and coast to west Miami-Dade County, Miami International Airport, and Florida's Turnpike.
Locally, the area is served by three county transit authorities: Palm Tran (Palm Beach County), Broward County Transit, and the largest, Miami-Dade Transit. The latter not only operates bus, but metro rapid transit (the Metrorail) and a downtown people mover (Metromover). Additionally, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority operates Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system that connects the three primary cities of South Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), and most intermediate points.
The metropolis also has two major seaports, the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, both major cruise ship ports. Furthermore, the Port of Miami imports and exports goods from all over the world, making it one of the busiest and heavily traveled ports in the country.
Most of the South Florida's business is conducted in Miami, of which, the central business district (downtown) has the largest concentration of international banks in the United States. The area serves as the Latin American headquarters to a number of corporations, including American Airlines, Cisco, Exxon, Microsoft, and Sony.
See also
Populations of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Area (and rankings) (http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab01a.pdf)
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