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Montpelier, The capital |
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, 9,250 square miles (24,000 km2), and 45th by total area. It has a population of 625,741, making it the second least-populated state. The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for Lake Champlain (which makes up 50 percent of Vermont's western border) and the Green Mountains, which run north to south. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Québec to the north.
Originally inhabited by two major Native American tribes (the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and the Iroquois), much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France in the early colonial period. It ceded the territory to Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War (also called the French and Indian War). For many years, the surrounding colonies, especially New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area (referred to at the time as the New Hampshire Grants). Settlers' holding land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded during the Revolutionary War in 1776, it lasted for 14 years. While independent, it abolished slavery. When it joined the union, it was the first state to have abolished slavery. Vermont is one of 17 U.S. states (along with Texas, Hawaii, the brief California Republic, and each of the original Thirteen Colonies) that had a sovereign government at one point. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the fourteenth state, and the first outside the original Thirteen Colonies.
Vermont is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States. The state capital is Montpelier, and the largest city and metropolitan area is Burlington. No other state has a largest city as small as Burlington, or a capital city as small as Montpelier.
Originally inhabited by two major Native American tribes (the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and the Iroquois), much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France in the early colonial period. It ceded the territory to Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War (also called the French and Indian War). For many years, the surrounding colonies, especially New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area (referred to at the time as the New Hampshire Grants). Settlers' holding land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded during the Revolutionary War in 1776, it lasted for 14 years. While independent, it abolished slavery. When it joined the union, it was the first state to have abolished slavery. Vermont is one of 17 U.S. states (along with Texas, Hawaii, the brief California Republic, and each of the original Thirteen Colonies) that had a sovereign government at one point. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the fourteenth state, and the first outside the original Thirteen Colonies.
Vermont is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States. The state capital is Montpelier, and the largest city and metropolitan area is Burlington. No other state has a largest city as small as Burlington, or a capital city as small as Montpelier.
Vermont is located in the New England region in the eastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles (24,900 km2), making it the 45th-largest state. It is the only state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet (38 m). Land comprises 9,250 square miles (24,000 km2) and water comprises 365 square miles (950 km2), making it the 43rd-largest in land area and the 47th in water area. In total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti.
The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern (New Hampshire) border of the state (the river is part of New Hampshire). 41% of Vermont's land area is part of the Connecticut River's watershed.
The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern (New Hampshire) border of the state (the river is part of New Hampshire). 41% of Vermont's land area is part of the Connecticut River's watershed.
Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles (256 km) long. Its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles (143 km) at the Canadian border; the narrowest width is 37 miles (60 km) at the Massachusetts line. The width averages 60.5 miles (97.4 km). The state's geographic center is approximately three miles (5 km) east of Roxbury, in Washington County. There are fifteen US federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada.The origin of the name "Vermont" is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning "the Green Mountains". Thomas Young introduced it in 1777. Some authorities[specify] say that the mountains were called green because they were more forested than the higher White Mountains of New Hampshire and Adirondacks of New York; others say that the predominance of mica-quartz-chlorite schist, a green-hued metamorphosed shale, is the reason. The Green Mountain range forms a north–south spine running most of the length of the state, slightly west of its center. In the southwest portion of the state are the Taconic Mountains; the Granitic Mountains are in the northeast. In the northwest, near Lake Champlain, is the fertile Champlain Valley. In the south of the valley is Lake Bomoseen.
Several mountains have timberlines with delicate year-round alpine ecosystems, including Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in the state; Killington Peak, the second-highest; Camel's Hump, the state's third-highest; and Mount Abraham, the fifth-highest peak. About 77% of the state is covered by forest; the rest is covered in meadow, uplands, lakes, ponds, and marshes.
Areas in Vermont administered by the National Park Service include the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (in Woodstock) and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
Between 8500 and 7000 BCE, at the time of the Champlain Sea, Native Americans inhabited and hunted in present-day Vermont. During the Archaic period, from the 8th millennium BCE to 1000 BCE, Native Americans migrated year-round. During the Woodland period, from 1000 BCE to 1600 CE, villages and trade networks were established, and ceramic and bow and arrow technology was developed. In the western part of the state there lived a small population of Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Mohican and Abenaki peoples. Sometime between 1500 and 1600 CE, the Iroquois, based in present-day New York, drove many of the smaller native tribes out of Vermont, later using the area as a hunting ground and warring with the remaining Abenaki. The population in 1500 CE was estimated to be around 10,000 people.
