Punta Gorda is a city in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the city had a population of 16,641. It is the county seat of Charlotte County and the only incorporated municipality in the county. Punta Gorda is the principal city of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also in the Sarasota-Bradenton-Punta Gorda Combined Statistical Area.
Punta Gorda was the scene of massive destruction after Charley, a Category 4 hurricane, came through the city on August 13, 2004. Charley was the strongest tropical system to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the first hurricane since Hurricane Donna in 1960 to make a direct hit on Florida's southwest coast. In the immediate years following the storm, buildings were restored or built to hurricane-resistant building codes. The new buildings, restorations and amenities concurrently preserved the city's past while showcasing newer facilities. During this time, Laishley Park Municipal Marina was built and the Harborwalk, Linear Park and various trails were created throughout the city for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
The name Punta Gorda ("Fat Point") has been on maps at least since 1851, referring to a point of land that juts into Charlotte Harbor, an estuary off the Gulf of Mexico. It was in the late 1800s that early settlers began to arrive in what is the present-day Punta Gorda area.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punta_Gorda,_Florida
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Charlotte Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The name Charlotte Harbor also refers to Charlotte Harbor (estuary) and Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, a 42,000-acre (17,000 ha) preserve with 70 miles (110 km) of shoreline along Charlotte Harbor in Charlotte County.
The population of Charlotte Harbor was 3,784 in 2020, up from 3,710 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area and included in the North Port-Bradenton, Florida Combined Statistical Area.
Charlotte Harbor is located at 26°57′50″N 82°3′44″W (26.963897, -82.062267) on the north bank of the Peace River, the main tidal inlet to the Charlotte Harbor estuary, itself an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Route 41, the Tamiami Trail, crosses the Peace River between Charlotte Harbor and Punta Gorda via the Barron Collier Bridge (northbound) and the Gilchrist Bridge (southbound).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Charlotte Harbor CDP has a total area of 5.0 square miles (13.0 km2), of which 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2), or 53.95%, is water.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Harbor,_Florida
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