Miami is a major city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. The city covers 55.27 square miles (143.15 kmē) and is the county seat of Miami-Dade County. Miami is a gamma world city with an estimated population of 391,355, and is the largest city within the South Florida metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States and the seventh-largest metropolitan area and fifth largest urban area in the country with an estimated population of over 5.4 million.[1]

Miami's importance as an international, financial, and cultural center has elevated Miami to the status of world city. Because of Miami's cultural and linguistic ties to North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, Miami is many times referred to as "The Gateway of the Americas." Florida's large Spanish-speaking population and strong economic ties to Latin America also make Miami and the surrounding region an important center of the Hispanic world.

Miami is also home to one of the largest, most influential ports in the United States, the Port of Miami. The port is often times called the "Cruise Capital of the World" and the "Cargo Gateway of the Americas". It has retained its status as the number one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines.