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Daytona Beach

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Daytona Beach is a city located in Volusia County, East Central Florida.

  • The Greater Daytona Beach Area also includes Daytona Beach Shores, Holly Hill, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, South Daytona, Ormond Beach and unincorporated areas of East Volusia County.
  • Some of the surrounding cities use Daytona Beach as a mailing address. If you cannot find what you are looking for here, try checking the surrounding cities.

Culture and History

Daytona Beach [1], famous as the "World Center of Racing" and home of NASCAR, is part of the East Central Florida greater metropolitan area. Daytona Beach is the best known of the seven area communities. Although the wide 23-mile stretch of white sandy beach is still the biggest attraction here, with over 8 million visitors flocking to the area every year, the metro area is rapidly changing from event Mecca to family oriented resort destination. Historical sites like the Main Street Pier, the Oceanfront Boardwalk and the Clocktower in Oceanfront Park add to the appeal of this exciting city.

History

Daytona was founded in 1870 by Matthias Day, from whom it takes its name. It was incorporated as a city in 1876. The separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze merged to form Daytona Beach in 1926. In the 1920s, the city became known as The World's Most Famous Beach.

Daytona's wide beach of smooth, compacted sand attracted automobile and motorcycle enthusiasts beginning in 1902, when pioneers in the industry tested their inventions. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Course. In 1959, William France created Daytona International Speedway to replace the beach course.

Automobiles are still permitted on the beach — at much slower speeds! Daytona is one of the few places in the world where a family car can be driven on an ocean beach.

Climate

The city of Daytona Beach sits on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and is split in two by the Halifax River. It is bordered on the north by Holly Hill and Ormond Beach and on the south by Daytona Beach Shores, South Daytona, and Port Orange.

Daytona Beach has a very humid subtropical climate typical for a city in the southeastern United States. Summers are hot and humid with highs usually in the 90s and a heat index often exceeding 100

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This page was last edited at 16:58, on 22 December 2008 by Andrew Heneen. Based on work by Stefan Ertmann, Open Hospitality and George Miziuk, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo and Biggie54, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.

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