New York (NY)

NEW YORK STATE FLAG

The Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624; two years later they founded the New Amsterdam colony on Manhattan Island. In 1664 the English took control of the area and renamed it New York.

One of the original 13 colonies, New York played a crucial political and strategic role during the American Revolution. Between 1892 and 1954, millions of immigrants arrived in New York Harbor and passed through Ellis Island on their journey to become American citizens. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of Americans can trace at least one ancestor to that port of entry.

New York City, the state’s largest city, is home to the New York Stock Exchange and is a major international economic center.

Geography

New York State is located in the Northeastern region of the United States and is bordered by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. It is also adjacent to the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The state has a total area of 54,556 square miles and is the 27th largest state in terms of land area.

The landscape of New York State is varied and includes both mountainous regions as well as coastal plains. In the northwest corner of the state lies the Adirondack Mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. The Catskill Mountains lie further south in the eastern part of New York State and form a natural border between New York City and Upstate New York. The highest point in the state is Mount Marcy located within Adirondack Park at an elevation of 5,344 feet (1,629 meters).

The Hudson River runs through much of Upstate New York from north to south while Lake Champlain forms part of its eastern border with Vermont. There are also numerous smaller lakes throughout Upstate New York such as Lake George and Saratoga Lake. Further south lies Long Island which stretches eastward into the Atlantic Ocean forming a geographic boundary between Connecticut and Rhode Island on its western side.

New York City itself lies at the southern tip of Manhattan Island which itself is surrounded by several other islands including Staten Island, Brooklyn (formerly known as Kings County), Queens, The Bronx, and Governors Island among others. Much like upstate New York there are numerous smaller rivers that run through NYC such as The East River which separates Manhattan from Brooklyn/Queens on its western side; The Harlem River separating The Bronx from Manhattan on its northern side; And The Hudson River that separates Manhattan from NJ/Upstate NY on its western side.

Aside from these major geographical features there are also numerous smaller areas such as Finger Lakes Region located near Syracuse; Thousand Islands Region near Watertown; Niagara Falls located along NY’s western border with Canada; and many more small towns spread throughout Upstate NY that make up this beautiful state’s geography.

Cities in New York

Below are the top 15 cities by population in New York. For all cities and towns in the state, please see New York cities list.

Rank City Population
1 New York city 8,736,047
2 Hempstead town 791,018
3 Brookhaven 485,984
4 Islip 339,596
5 Oyster Bay 300,743
6 Buffalo 276,011
7 North Hempstead 236,910
8 Babylon town 217,796
9 Rochester city 211,100
10 Yonkers 209,730
11 Huntington 204,147
12 Ramapo 147,119
13 Syracuse 146,781
14 Amherst 128,783
15 Smithtown 116,560

Counties in New York

The State of New York consists of 62 counties. They are:

  1. Albany County, New York
  2. Allegany County, New York
  3. Bronx County, New York
  4. Broome County, New York
  5. Cattaraugus County, New York
  6. Cayuga County, New York
  7. Chautauqua County, New York
  8. Chemung County, New York
  9. Chenango County, New York
  10. Clinton County, New York
  11. Columbia County, New York
  12. Cortland County, New York
  13. Delaware County, New York
  14. Dutchess County, New York
  15. Erie County, New York
  16. Essex County, New York
  17. Franklin County, New York
  18. Fulton County, New York
  19. Genesee County, New York
  20. Greene County, New York
  21. Hamilton County, New York
  22. Herkimer County, New York
  23. Jefferson County, New York
  24. Kings County, New York
  25. Lewis County, New York
  26. Livingston County, New York
  27. Madison County, New York
  28. Monroe County, New York
  29. Montgomery County, New York
  30. Nassau County, New York
  31. New York County, New York
  32. Niagara County, New York
  33. Oneida County, New York
  34. Onondaga County, New York
  35. Ontario County, New York
  36. Orange County, New York
  37. Orleans County, New York
  38. Oswego County, New York
  39. Otsego County, New York
  40. Putnam County, New York
  41. Queens County, New York
  42. Rensselaer County, New York
  43. Richmond County, New York
  44. Rockland County, New York
  45. Saint Lawrence County, New York
  46. Saratoga County, New York
  47. Schenectady County, New York
  48. Schoharie County, New York
  49. Schuyler County, New York
  50. Seneca County, New York
  51. Steuben County, New York
  52. Suffolk County, New York
  53. Sullivan County, New York
  54. Tioga County, New York
  55. Tompkins County, New York
  56. Ulster County, New York
  57. Warren County, New York
  58. Washington County, New York
  59. Wayne County, New York
  60. Westchester County, New York
  61. Wyoming County, New York
  62. Yates County, New York

NEW YORK STATE FLAG