The Florida Panhandle is the region of the state of Florida which includes the westernmost 10 to 18 counties in the state. It is a narrow strip lying between Alabama and Georgia to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. While some definitions only include the counties west of the , others include the eight counties east of the Apalachicola that are part of the Big Bend region. Culturally and in terms of history and climate, the region is more closely tied to the than to peninsular Florida.