Physical Characteristics. Santa Rosa County is in northwest Florida and is bordered by Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico, and by Escambia and Okaloosa counties. The county has 1023.52 square miles of land and 120.20 square miles of water for a total of 1143.square miles. The average January temperature is 53.8 degrees fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 80.5 degrees fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 58.85 inches.
History. Santa Rosa County was established in 1842 from a portion of Escambia County and named for Santa Rosa Island, which was named for the Catholic saint St. Rosa de Viterbo.
