Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León made the first textual records of Florida during his 1513 voyage. He named the peninsula La Pascua Florida to honor the Easter season and the verdant landscape he encountered.
Three basic climate regions occur along the East Coast including a cold continental climate from the US-Canadian border south to southern Rhode Island, a temperate climate extending to western North Carolina, and a humid subtropical zone from southern Delmarva Peninsula to central Florida. The only tropical climate in the continental United States exists from south-central Florida to the Florida Keys where all twelve months average above 18 degrees Celsius.
Hurricanes Hazel Hugo Bob Isabel Irene and Sandy are some of the more significant storms to have affected the region. Most recently Florence Isaias Henri and Ida brought destruction to coastal communities despite landfalls being rare.
In 2010 the population of states with shoreline on the East Coast was estimated at 112,642,503 representing about 36% of the country's total population. New York City stands as both the largest city and the largest metropolitan area on the East Coast.
The primary Interstate Highway along the East Coast is Interstate 95 completed in 2018 which replaced U.S. Route 1. By water the East Coast connects from the Annisquam River in Gloucester Massachusetts to Miami Florida via the Intracoastal Waterway completed in 1912.