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Daytona Beach
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Daytona Beach Daytona, Fla.
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Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, Florida.

Daytona Beach

Florida, United States
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Daytona Beach, city, Volusia county, northeastern Florida, U.S., on the Atlantic Ocean and Halifax River (a tidewater lagoon, part of the Intracoastal Waterway), about 90 miles (145 km) south of Jacksonville. The area was originally inhabited by Timucua Indians. Creek peoples lived there when English settlers began establishing plantations in the area in the 1760s. These plantations were taken over by American settlers after the American Revolution. The original city, Daytona, was founded by Mathias Day of Ohio in 1870 and named for him. Day built a hotel there in 1874, and the area developed as a winter vacation spot for Northerners. In 1926 the cities of Seabreeze, Daytona, and Daytona Beach were consolidated as Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach is now a noted year-round resort with some manufacturing (including automotive parts and metal products). The world-famous Ormond-Daytona beach of hard, white sand, 23 miles (37 km) long and 500 feet (150 metres) wide at low tide, was used for automobile speed trials in the first decades of the 20th century, the last run being that of Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1935, when he drove his racer Bluebird V over the course at 276.82 miles (445.49 km) per hour. Motor vehicles are still permitted on the beach, although their access is limited. The city is also known for the Daytona International Speedway, site of the Daytona 500 in February and the Pepsi 400 in July, and it is the headquarters of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).

Other attractions devoted to auto racing include Daytona USA, featuring interactive racing displays, and the Klassix Auto Museum. The Museum of Arts and Sciences includes a collection of Cuban art. A greyhound-racing track is located near the speedway. Daytona Beach has long been a popular destination for college students on spring vacation. Educational institutions include Bethune-Cookman College (1872), Daytona Beach Community College (1957), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1926), and a branch campus of the University of Central Florida. Inc. 1876. Pop. (2000) 64,112; Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Metro Area, 443,343; (2010) 61,005; Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Metro Area, 494,593.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kenneth Pletcher.