Geography

New York covers 54,556 square miles (141,299 km²) and ranks as 27th largest state by size. The Great Appalachian Valley dominates eastern New York, while Lake Champlain is the chief northern feature of the valley, which also includes the Hudson River flowing southward to the Atlantic Ocean. The rugged Adirondack Mountains, with vast tracts of wilderness, lie west of the valley. Most of the southern part of the state is on the Allegheny plateau, which rises from the southeast to the Catskill Mountains. The western section of the state is drained by the Allegheny River and rivers of the Susquehanna and Delaware systems. The Delaware River Basin Compact, signed in 1961 by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the federal government, regulates the utilization of water of the Delaware system. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks.

New York's borders touch (clockwise from the west) two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River); the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada; Lake Champlain; three New England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut); the Atlantic Ocean, and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). In addition, Rhode Island shares a water border with New York.

Contrasting with New York City's urban atmosphere, the vast majority of the state is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. New York's Adirondack Park is the largest state park in the United States. It is larger than the Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Olympic National Parks combined. New York established the first state park in the United States at Niagara Falls in 1885. Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River as it flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is a popular attraction. The Hudson River begins with Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining Lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu and then the St. Lawrence Rivers. Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and Brooklyn and Queens on Long Island.

"Upstate" and "Downstate" are common terms used to distinguish New York State counties north of suburban Westchester and Rockland counties, on the one hand, from the New York City metropolitan area on th other. Upstate New York typically includes the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, the Shawangunk Ridge, the Finger Lakes and the Great Lakes in the west; and Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Oneida Lake in the northeast; and rivers such as the Delaware, Genesee, Mohawk, and Susquehanna. (A popular joke goes, "Where does Upstate begin?" "At the sign that says, 'Welcome to Yonkers'!") Central New York is the region centered around Syracuse and Utica, regions west of Syracuse are Western New York (i.e. Rochester and Buffalo), Binghamton, Elmira and west along the Pennsylvania line is the "Southern Tier," and "The North Country" is the region between the Adirondacks and the Canadian border, from the Watertown area to Plattsburgh. Residents of neighboring states and provinces may use the term "New York State" to refer to Upstate New York, to distinguish the region from New York City.

Climate

New York generally has a humid continental climate, though a plausible argument can be made that under the Köppen climate classification, New York City has a humid subtropical climate. Weather in New York is heavily influenced by two continental air masses: a warm, humid one from the southwest and a cold, dry one from the northwest. A cool, humid airflow from the North Atlantic also has an effect on weather in the state, albeit to a lesser extent than the continental ones. Many continental frontal boundaries move across New York, and storm systems moving north along the coast often affect the southern areas of the state.

The winters are long and cold in the Plateau Divisions of the state. In the majority of winter seasons, a temperature of −13 °F (−25 °C) or lower can be expected in the northern highlands (Northern Plateau) and 5 °F (−15 °C) or colder in the southwestern and east-central highlands (Southern Plateau). The Adirondack region records from 35 to 45 days with below zero temperatures in normal to severe winters. Much of Upstate New York, particularly Western and Central New York, are typically affected by lake-effect snows. This usually results in high yearly snowfall totals in these regions. Winters are also long and cold in both Western and Central New York, though not as cold as the Adirondack region. The New York City metro area in comparison to the rest of the state is milder in the winter. Thanks in part to geography (its proximity to the Atlantic and being shielded to the north and west by hillier terrain), the New York metro area usually sees far less snow than the rest of the state. Lake-effect snow rarely affects the New York metro area, except for its extreme northwestern suburbs. Winters also tend to be noticeably shorter here than the rest of the state.

The summer climate is cool in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and higher elevations of the Southern Plateau. The New York City area and lower portions of the Hudson Valley have rather warm summers by comparison, with some periods of high, uncomfortable humidity. The remainder of New York State enjoys pleasantly warm summers, marred by only occasional, brief intervals of sultry conditions. Summer daytime temperatures usually range from the upper 70s to mid 80s °F (25 to 30 °C) over much of the State, producing an atmospheric environment favorable to many athletic, recreational, and other outdoor activities.

New York ranks 46th among the 50 states in the amount of greenhouse gases generated per person. This efficiency is primarily due to the state's relatively higher rate of mass transit use.

New York has an overall temperate climate. In places like Smithtown on Long Island, the climate is warmer than somewhere up north like Ticonderoga, where both the latitude and altitude is higher. In Smithtown, the average high July temperature is 83 degrees fahrenheit, while in Ticonderoga the average high in July is 81 degrees fahrenheit.

State parks

New York has many state parks and two major forest preserves. Adirondack Park, roughly the size of the state of Vermont and the largest state park in the United States, was established in 1892 and given state constitutional protection in 1894. The thinking that led to the creation of the Park first appeared in George Perkins Marsh's Man and Nature, published in 1864. Marsh argued that deforestation could lead to desertification; referring to the clearing of once-lush lands surrounding the Mediterranean, he asserted "the operation of causes set in action by man has brought the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon."

The Catskill Park was protected in legislation passed in 1885, which declared that its land was to be conserved and never put up for sale or lease. Consisting of 700,000 acres (2,800 km²) of land, the park is a habitat for bobcats, minks and fishers. There are some 400 black bears living in the region. The state operates numerous campgrounds and there are over 300 miles (480 km) of multi-use trails in the Park.

The Montauk Point State Park boasts the famous Montauk Lighthouse, commissioned by President George Washington, which is a major tourist attraction and is located in the township of East Hampton, Suffolk County. Hither Hills park offers camping and is a popular destination with surfcasting sport fishermen.

History

During the 17th century, Dutch trading posts established for the purchase of pelts from the Iroquois and other tribes expanded into the colony of New Netherlands. The first of these trading posts were Fort Nassau (1614, near present-day Albany); Fort Orange (1624, on the Hudson River just south of nowadays city of Albany (to replace the already mentioned Fort Nassau), developing into settlement Beverwijck (1647), and into nowadays Albany); Fort Amsterdam (1625, to develop into the town New Amsterdam which is present-day New York City); and Esopus, (1653, now Kingston). The British captured the colony during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and governed it as the Province of New York. Agitation for independence during the 1770s brought the American Revolution.

New York endorsed the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776. The New York state constitution was framed by a convention which assembled at White Plains, New York on July 10, 1776, and after repeated adjournments and changes of location, terminated its labors at Kingston, New York on Sunday evening, April 20, 1777, when the new constitution was adopted with but one dissenting vote. It was not submitted to the people for ratification. It was drafted by John Jay. On 30 July 1777, George Clinton was inaugurated as the first Governor of New York at Kingston.

The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga provided the cannon and gunpowder necessary to force a British withdrawal from the Siege of Boston in 1775. The first major battle of the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared - and the largest battle of the entire war - was fought in New York at the Battle of Long Island (a.k.a Battle of Brooklyn) in 1776, and the first of two major British armies were captured by the Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, influencing France to ally with the revolutionaries. The withdrawal of General George Washington from Manhattan Island was followed by the British making New York City their military and political base of operations in North America for the duration of the conflict, and consequently the center of attention for Washington's intelligence network. The notorious British prison ships of Wallabout Bay saw more American combatants die of intentional neglect than were killed in combat in every battle of the war, combined. Four of the Iroquois nations fought on the side of the British. They were defeated in the Sullivan Expedition of 1779. Suffering privations, many members moved to Canada. Most, absent or present, lost their land after the war. Some of the land purchases are the subject of modern-day claims by the individual tribes. As per the Treaty of Paris. the last vestige of British authority in the former Thirteen Colonies - their troops in New York City - departed in 1783, which was long afterwards celebrated as Evacuation Day.

New York state was one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. It was the 11th state to ratify the United States Constitution, on July 26, 1788.

Transportation in western New York was difficult before canals were built in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Hudson and Mohawk Rivers could be navigated only as far as Central New York. While the St. Lawrence River could be navigated to Lake Ontario, the way westward to the other Great Lakes was blocked by Niagara Falls, and so the only route to western New York was over land. Governor DeWitt Clinton strongly advocated building a canal to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie, and thus all the Great Lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal was finished in 1825. The canal opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement, and enabled port cities such as Buffalo to grow and prosper.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor on October 28, 1886. Ellis Island opened as the primary immigration depot in the U.S. in 1892.

Demographics

Population

As of 2006, New York was the third largest state in population after California and Texas, with an estimated population of 19,306,183. This represents an increase of 329,362, or 1.7%, since the year 2000; it includes a natural increase since the last census of 601,779 people (1,576,125 births minus 974,346 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 422,481 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 820,388 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of about 800,213.

In spite of the open land in the state, New York's population is very urban, with 92% of residents living in an urban area.

New York is a slow growing state with a large rate of migration to other states. In 2000 and 2005, more people moved from New York to Florida than from any one state to another. New York state is a leading destination for international immigration, however. The center of population of New York is located in Orange County, in the town of Deerpark. New York City and its eight suburban counties (excluding those in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) have a combined population of 13,209,006 people, or 68.42% of the state's population.

Racial and ancestral makeup

The major ancestry groups in New York state are African American (15.8%), Italian (14.4%), Irish (12.9%), and German (11.1%). According to a 2004 estimate, 20.4% of the population is foreign-born.

New York is home to the largest Dominican and Jamaican American population in the United States. The New York City neighborhood of Harlem has historically been a major cultural capital for sub saharan African-Americans and Bedford Stuyvesant is the largest in the United States. Queens, also in New York City, is home to the state's largest Asian-American population, and is also the most diverse county in the United States.

In the 2000 Census, Italian-Americans make up the largest ancestral group in Staten Island and Long Island, followed by Irish-Americans. Albany and southeast-central New York are heavily Irish-American and Italian-American. In Buffalo and western New York, German-Americans are the largest group; in the northern tip of the state, French-Canadians.

6.5% of New York's population were under 5 years of age, 24.7% under 18, and 12.9% were 65 or older. Females made up 51.8% of the population.

New York State has a higher number of Italian-Americans than any other U.S. state.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 13.61% of the population aged 5 and over speak Spanish at home, while 2.04% speak Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin), 1.65% Italian, and 1.23% Russian.

Religion

Catholics comprise more than 40% of the population in New York. Protestants are 30% of the population, Jews 5%, Muslims 3.5%, Buddhists 1%, and 13% claim no religious affiliation.

Cities and towns

The largest city in the state and the most populous city in the United States is New York City, which comprises five counties, the Bronx, New York (Manhattan), Queens, Kings (Brooklyn), and Richmond (Staten Island). New York City is home to more than two-fifths of the state's population. The ten largest cities are:

1. New York City (8,274,527)
2. Buffalo (279,745)
3. Rochester (211,091)
4. Yonkers (196,425)
5. Syracuse (141,683)
6. Albany (93,523)
7. New Rochelle (72,967)
8. Mount Vernon (67,924)
9. Schenectady (61,280)
10. Utica (59,336)

The location of these cities within the state stays remarkably true to the major transportation and trade routes in the early nineteenth century, primarily the Erie Canal and railroads paralleling it. Today, Interstate 90 acts as a modern counterpart to commercial water routes.

Grouped by metropolitan statistical area, the twelve largest population centers in the state are:

1. New York City (18,815,988 in NY/NJ/PA, 12,381,586 in NY)
2. Buffalo/Niagara Falls (1,128,183)
3. Rochester (1,030,495)
4. Albany and the Capital District (853,358)
5. Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley (669,915)
6. Syracuse (645,293)
7. Utica/Rome (294,862)
8. Binghamton (246,426)
9. Kingston (181,860)
10. Glens Falls (128,886)
11. Ithaca (101,055)
12. Elmira (88,015)

The smallest city is Sherrill, New York, located just west of the Town of Vernon in Oneida County. Albany is the state capital, and the Town of Hempstead is the civil township with the largest population.

The southern tip of New York State—New York City, its suburbs including Long Island, the southern portion of the Hudson Valley, and most of northern New Jersey—can be considered to form the central core of a "megalopolis", a super-city stretching from the northern suburbs of Boston to the southern suburbs of Washington D.C. in Virginia and therefore occasionally called "BosWash".

Economy

New York's gross state product in 2006 was $1.02 trillion, ranking third in size behind the larger states of California and Texas. If New York were an independent nation, it would rank as the 16th largest economy in the world behind South Korea. Its 2005 per capita personal income was $40,072, an increase of 4.2% from 2004, placing it fifth in the nation behind Maryland, and eighth in the world behind Ireland. New York's agricultural outputs are dairy products, cattle and other livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. Its industrial outputs are printing and publishing, scientific instruments, electric equipment, machinery, chemical products, and tourism.

A recent review by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found 13 states, including several of the nation's largest, face budget shortfalls for FY2009. New York faces a deficit that could be as large as $4.3 billion.

New York exports a wide variety of goods such as foodstuffs, commodities, minerals, manufactured goods, cut diamonds, and automobile parts. New York's five largest export markets in 2004 were Canada ($30.2 billion), United Kingdom ($3.3 billion), Japan ($2.6 billion), Israel ($2.4 billion), and Switzerland ($1.8 billion). New York's largest imports are oil, gold, aluminum, natural gas, electricity, rough diamonds, and lumber.

Canada is a very important economic partner for the state. 23% of the state's total worldwide exports went to Canada in 2004. Tourism from the north is also a large part of the economy. Canadians spent US$487 million in 2004 while visiting the state.

New York City is the leading center of banking, finance and communication in the United States and is the location of the New York Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in the world by dollar volume. Many of the world's largest corporations are based in the city.

The state also has a large manufacturing sector that includes printing and the production of garments, furs, railroad equipment and bus line vehicles. Many of these industries are concentrated in upstate regions. Albany and the Hudson Valley are major centers of nanotechnology and microchip manufacturing, while the Rochester area is important in photographic equipment and imaging.

New York is a major agricultural producer, ranking among the top five states for agricultural products such as dairy, apples, cherries, cabbage, potatoes, onions, maple syrup and many others. The state is the largest producer of cabbage in the U.S. The state has about a quarter of its land in farms and produced US$3.4 billion in agricultural products in 2001. The south shore of Lake Ontario provides the right mix of soils and microclimate for many apple, cherry, plum, pear and peach orchards. Apples are also grown in the Hudson Valley and near Lake Champlain. The south shore of Lake Erie and the southern Finger Lakes hillsides have many vineyards. New York is the nation's third-largest grape-producing state, behind California, and second largest wine producer by volume. In 2004, New York's wine and grape industry brought US$6 billion into the state economy. The state has 30,000 acres (120 km²) of vineyards, 212 wineries, and produced 200 million bottles of wine in 2004. A moderately sized saltwater commercial fishery is located along the Atlantic side of Long Island. The principal catches by value are clams, lobsters, squid, and flounder. These areas have been increasing as environmental protection has led to an increase in ocean wildlife.

Transportation

New York has one of the most extensive and one of the oldest transportation infrastructures in the country. Engineering difficulties because of the terrain of the state and the unique issues of the city brought on by urban crowding have had to be overcome since the state was young. Population expansion of the state generally followed the path of the early waterways, first the Hudson River and then the Erie Canal. Today, railroad lines and the New York State Thruway follow the same general route. The New York State Department of Transportation is often criticized for how they maintain the roads of the state in certain areas and for the fact that the tolls collected along the roadway have long passed their original purpose. Until 2006, tolls were collected on the Thruway within The City of Buffalo. They were dropped late in 2006 during the campaign for Governor (both candidates called for their removal).

In addition to New York City's famous mass transit subway, four suburban commuter railroad systems enter and leave the city, including the Long Island Rail Road, MTA Metro-North, the PATH system and five of NJTransit's rail services. Many of the other cities have urban and regional public transportation. Buffalo also has a Subway line, sometimes called a Lightrail System run by the NFTA, and Rochester had a subway system, although it is mostly destroyed. Only a small part exists under the old Erie Canal Aqueduct.

Portions of the transportation system are intermodal, allowing travelers to easily switch from one mode of transportation to another. One of the most notable examples is AirTrain JFK which allows rail passengers to travel directly to terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Politics and government

Under its present constitution (adopted in 1938), New York is governed by the same three branches that govern all fifty states of the United States: the executive branch, consisting of the Governor of New York and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch, consisting of the bicameral New York State Legislature; and the judicial branch, consisting of the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, and lower courts. The state has two U.S. senators, 29 members in the United States House of Representatives, and 31 electoral votes in national presidential elections (a drop from its 41 votes during the 1970s).

New York's capital is Albany. The state's subordinate political units are its 62 counties. Other officially incorporated governmental units are towns, cities, and villages. New York has more than 4,200 local governments that take one of these forms. About 52% of all revenue raised by local governments in the state is raised solely by the government of New York City, which is the largest municipal government in the United States.

The state has a strong imbalance of payments with the federal government. New York State receives 82 cents in services for every $1 it sends in taxes to the federal government in Washington. The state ranks near the bottom, in 42nd place, in federal spending per tax dollar.

Many of New York's public services are carried out by public benefit corporations, frequently called authorities or development corporations. Well known public benefit corporations in New York include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees New York City's public transportation system, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state transportation infrastructure agency.

New York's legal system is explicitly based on English common Law. Capital punishment was declared unconstitutional in 2004.

Politics

In the last few decades, New York State has generally supported candidates belonging to the Democratic Party in national elections. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won New York State by 18 percentage points in 2004, while Democrat Al Gore won the state by an even larger margin in 2000. New York City is a major Democratic stronghold with liberal politics. Many of the state's other urban areas, such as Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are also Democratic. Rural upstate New York, however, is generally more conservative than the cities and tends to favor Republicans. Heavily populated Suburban areas such as Westchester County and Long Island have swung between the major parties over the past 25 years, but more often support Democrats.

New York City is the most important source of political fund-raising in the United States for both major parties. Four of the top five zip codes in the nation for political contributions are in Manhattan. The top zip code, 10021 on the Upper East Side, generated the most money for the 2000 presidential campaigns of both George W. Bush and Al Gore.

Education

The University of the State of New York oversees all public primary, middle-level, and secondary education in the state, while the New York City Department of Education manages the public school system in New York City.

At the college level, the statewide public university system is the State University of New York (SUNY). The City University of New York (CUNY) is the public university system of New York City. The SUNY system consists of 64 community colleges, technical colleges, undergraduate colleges and universities. The four university centers are University at Albany, Binghamton University, University at Buffalo and SUNY Stony Brook.

In addition there are many notable private universities, including the oldest Catholic institution in the northeast, Fordham University. New York is home to both Columbia University and Cornell University, making it the only state to contain more than one Ivy League school.

Sports

New York hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, the Games known for the USA-USSR hockey game dubbed the "Miracle on Ice" in which a group of American college students and amateurs defeated the heavily-favored Soviet national ice hockey team 4-3 and went on to win the gold medal. Lake Placid also hosted the 1932 Winter Olympics. Along with St. Moritz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria, it is one of the three places to have twice hosted the Winter Olympic Games.

New York is the home of one National Football League team, the Buffalo Bills, (based in the suburb of Orchard Park); Although the New York Giants and New York Jets represent the New York metropolitan area, they play in Giants Stadium, which is located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York also has two Major League Baseball teams, the New York Yankees (based in The Bronx), and the New York Mets (based in Queens). Three National Hockey League franchises (the New York Rangers in Manhattan, the New York Islanders in Long Island and the Buffalo Sabres) are based in New York. A National Basketball Association team, the New York Knicks is based in Manhattan.

Navy vessel namesakes

There have been at least six United States Navy ships named USS New York in honor of the state. The keel was laid for the USS New York (LPD 21) on September 10, 2004 and she will be the seventh US Navy ship to be named for the state. The New York's motto will be "Never Forget."

The USS New York is one of the San Antonio-class of amphibious transport dock ships (LPD stands for Landing Ship Transport, Dock). The ship will be used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies, such as amphibious vehicles and helicopters. It is one of three similar ships being given names that are associated with September 11. The others are the LPD 24 USS Arlington and the LPD 25 USS Somerset.

Twenty-four tons of steel from the World Trade Center were recycled for construction of the ship. Approximately seven tons were used, reverently, to make the bow section of the ship's hull.

According to Naval records, several other ships have carried the name the USS New York. This new ship was given the name the USS New York when former New York governor George Pataki wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gordon England and requested that the Navy use the name to honor the victims of September 11 and to give it to a surface ship that would be used to fight the War on Terror. This is an exception to the current use of state names for submarines only.

The first ship to carry the name USS New York was an armed gondola built by Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold in 1776. She was burned to avoid capture later in the Revolutionary War.

The second ship named USS New York was a 36-gun frigate built in New York and commissioned in 1800. She saw service in the Mediterranean in the war against the Barbary Pirates. She was burned by the British in 1814 while she was in the Washington Navy Yard.

The third USS New York was one of nine built to discourage a future war with Britain after the war of 1812. The threat abated, so she was never launched. Union forces later burned the 74-gun ship of the line to avoid her capture at the start of the American Civil War.

Beginning in 1863, a screw sloop was being built that would have carried the name USS New York, but it also never got launched, being sold in 1888.

The fifth USS New York (ACR 2) was a armored cruiser commissioned in 1893. She was used in the Spanish-American War and was the flagship of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba (July 3, 1898), which destroyed the Spanish fleet. She was later renamed the USS Saratoga in 1911 and then renamed again as the USS Rochester in 1917.

The sixth was the battleship USS New York (BB 34), commissioned in 1914. She saw service in both World War I and World War II. She participated in atomic testing off the Bikini Islands surviving both an atmospheric explosion and an underwater detonation. She was used as a target ship in 1948 and was sunk off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Finally, the Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine USS New York City (SSN 696) was in service from 1979 until 1997.