Pensacola

Pensacola (/ˌpɛnsəˈkoʊlə/ PEN-sə-KOH-lə) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which had 509,905 residents in the 2020 census.

Pensacola was first settled by the Spanish Empire in 1559, antedating the establishment of St. Augustine by six years, but was abandoned due to a significant hurricane and not resettled until 1698. Pensacola is a seaport on Pensacola Bay, which is protected by the barrier island of Santa Rosa and connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Naval Air Station, the first and continuously largest in the United States, is located in Pensacola. It is the base of the Blue Angels flight-demonstration team and the National Naval Aviation Museum. The University of West Florida is situated north of the city center, as well as Pensacola Christian College, and Pensacola State College.