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Jacksonville (Florida)is a city in northeastern Florida, the state's most populous city as well as its leading financial and insurance center. Jacksonville consolidated with surrounding Duval County in 1968 and formed one of the cities with the largest jurisdiction in the United States, covering a land area of 1964.8 sq km (758.6 sq mi). Through the consolidation the city now fronts the Atlantic Ocean. Jacksonville in the 1990s began to orient itself to Florida and its services-driven economy after being tied to nearby southern Georgia throughout its history (the state line is only 40 km [25 mi] to the north of the city center). The local economy is sustained by the health and insurance industries, government, and tourism.
Jacksonville lines both banks of the Saint Johns River, with its downtown district about 30 km (about 20 mi) upstream from where the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its mean elevation is 2 m (8 ft). The city's climate is humid subtropical, but tends to be somewhat cooler than the Florida peninsula to the south. Winters can be marked by spells of cold weather, and limited snow or ice accumulations occur once every few years. In January the average high temperature is 18° C (64° F) and the average low is 5° C (41° F); in July the average high is 33° C (91° F) and the average low is 22° C (72° F). Normal annual precipitation is 1300 mm (51 in), with the largest monthly totals accumulating from June through September.
Jacksonville is named for Andrew Jackson, Florida's first territorial governor and later the seventh president of the United States. Jackson never visited his namesake city.
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