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GEOGRAPHY OF ORLANDO AREA
Florida
Orlando is located at 28°32'1" North, 81°22'33" West (28.533513, -81.375789)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 261.5 km˛ (100.9 mi˛). 242.2 km˛ (93.5 mi˛) of it is land and 19.3 km˛ (7.5 mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 7.39% water.
Orlando is rivaled only by the Twin Cities in the number of natural lakes to be found in its metropolitan area. The Orlando area is home to more than 100 lakes, the largest of which are Lake Apopka, Eustis, Griffin, Harney, Harris, Jesup, Monroe, Sand Lake, Conway, and Tohopekaliga. The region Orlando occupies is generally low-lying, the only exception being minor sand hills formed by wave action in earlier geological eras when sea level was higher. These sand hills are found primarily in the western sections of the metropolitan area, especially in Lake County. The area is also very prone to sink-holes due to the large number of underground limestone caverns that are located in the area. Many of the lakes started as sink holes in recent geologic history.
Metropolitan area
In the Orlando area, like most metropolitan areas in Florida, the majority of the population lives outside the city proper. Orlando is the center of a four-county metropolitan area that includes Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties. Oviedo, in Seminole County, has been listed as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Clermont (Lake) and Poinciana (Osceola) have also seen explosive growth. Although technically outside of the Orlando metro area, Deltona grew so fast that it overtook Daytona Beach as the largest city in Volusia County as of the 1990 census.
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