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Daytona Beach Facts

Daytona Beach Facts
Daytona Beach is located in Volusia County, Florida. This beach city has a population of over 61,000 people and is the main city of a region in Florida known as the Fun Coast. Daytona Beach is most famous for its beach that allows vehicles and for the Daytona International Speedway. Daytona Beach is also the headquarters of NASCAR. Each year the Daytona 500 race marks the beginning of the season for NASCAR and roughly 200,000 people attend the event. Daytona Beach has an area known as the Orange Grove Plantation but today is the historical district, where a sugar and citrus plantation once existed. A man named Mathias Day bought the land in 1871 and built a hotel. In 1876, despite Mathias' losing his land due to financial trouble, the town was named Daytona after him in 1876.
Interesting Daytona Beach Facts:
Daytona Beach includes Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Ponce Inlet, Holly Hill and South Daytona.
Beginning in the 1920s Daytona Beach has been known as the world's most famous beach.
Although it is legal to drive a car on Daytona Beach you can't drive faster than 16km an hour.
In the summer months manatees can be found in the canals and rivers in Daytona Beach.
The Casements, located on Ormond Beach, is the winter home of John D. Rockefeller. He died there at 97 years of age. It is now a community cultural center.
Florida's tallest lighthouse is located in Daytona Beach's Ponce Inlet.
In the winter it is possible to see migrating whales from Daytona Beach's shore.
Daytona Beach's most infamous resident was Aileen Wuornos. She was a serial killer who was found guilty and executed in 2002.
Biketoberfest is held every year in October in Daytona Beach.
On the first Saturday in July each year the Coke Zero 400 is held by NASCAR in Daytona Beach.
During spring break Daytona Beach is one of the most popular destinations for students.
The DeLeon Springs, located west of Daytona Beach, were discovered in 1513 by explorer Ponce de Leon.
Mathias Day, who Daytona Beach is named after, built the first hotel in the area in 1874.
Races have been held on Daytona Beach since 1902.
Seabreeze, Kingston, Daytona, and Daytona Beach merged to become Daytona Beach in 1926.
Daytona Beach encompasses 64.93 square miles and 6.25 square miles of it is water.
Daytona Beach is divided in two by the Halifax River lagoon.
Daytona Beach has a lower hurricane risk than many coastal regions due to the fact that they pass offshore when they reach Florida's northern Atlantic Coast.
A rogue wave hit the beaches in the county where Daytona Beach is located in 1992. The 9 foot high wave caused damage to cars and boats and some people were injured.
Daytona Beach's Museum of Arts and Sciences is the major cultural location. It includes a collection of galleries and museums.
Daytona Beach is home to the Tortugas, a minor baseball team.
Approximately 8 million people visit Daytona Beach year as tourists.


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