Geography
Gainesville is located at 29°39'55" North, 82°20'10" West (29.665245, -82.336097), which is roughly the same latitude as Houston, Texas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.1 square miles (127 km2), of which 48.2 square miles (125 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2 km2) is water. The total area is 1.87% water.
Gainesville's tree canopy is both dense and species rich, including broadleaf evergreens, conifers, and deciduous species; the city has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation every year since 1982 as a "Tree City, USA".
Gainesville is the only city with more than 10,000 residents in the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (Alachua and Gilchrist counties), and it is surrounded by rural area, including the 21,000-acre (8,500 ha) wilderness of Paynes Prairie on its southern edge. The city is characterized by its medium size, central location, about 90 minutes driving time from either Jacksonville or Orlando and five hours driving time from either Atlanta or Miami. The area is dominated by the presence of the University of Florida, which in 2008 had been the third largest university campus in the USA and as of Fall 2011 is the seventh largest campus by enrollment in the USA.
Read more about this topic: Gainesville, Florida
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)