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Fort Lauderdale is a city in southeastern Florida and seat of Broward County. The city is located where the New River enters the Atlantic Ocean. Fort Lauderdale is a major yachting center and a beach and fishing resort. Called the Venice of America, the city has an extensive network of inlets and canals that, with the New River, provides more than 266 km (165 mi) of navigable waterways. These waterways include a portion of the Intracoastal Waterway that passes through the city.
The city's nearby artificial harbor, Port Everglades, has the deepest water of any port on the United States Atlantic coast south of Norfolk, Virginia. Fort Lauderdale's beaches draw visitors from around the world, and tourism is a leading contributor to the economy. South Beach has a promenade of wide walkways for enjoyment of the city's climate. The city is served by Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Institutions of higher education located in Fort Lauderdale include Fort Lauderdale College (1940), Nova Southeastern University (1964), a campus of Florida Atlantic University (1961), a junior college, and an art school. Fort Lauderdale is the home of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and its Museum of Art boasts a fine collection of ethnographic art from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, North America, the Pacific Islands, and West Africa.
In 1838, during the second of the Seminole Wars, a military post, probably named for Major William Lauderdale, was established on the site of the city. Permanent settlement began about 1876, and the city incorporated in 1911.
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