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:
- Albany County, New York
- Allegany County, New York
- Bronx County, New York
- Broome County, New York
- Cattaraugus County, New York
- Cayuga County, New York
- Chautauqua County, New York
- Chemung County, New York
- Chenango County, New York
- Clinton County, New York
- Columbia County, New York
- Cortland County, New York
- Delaware County, New York
- Dutchess County, New York
- Erie County, New York
- Essex County, New York
- Franklin County, New York
- Fulton County, New York
- Genesee County, New York
- Greene County, New York
- Hamilton County, New York
- Herkimer County, New York
- Jefferson County, New York
- Kings County, New York
- Lewis County, New York
- Livingston County, New York
- Madison County, New York
- Monroe County, New York
- Montgomery County, New York
- Nassau County, New York
- New York County, New York
- Niagara County, New York
- Oneida County, New York
- Onondaga County, New York
- Ontario County, New York
- Orange County, New York
- Orleans County, New York
- Oswego County, New York
- Otsego County, New York
- Putnam County, New York
- Queens County, New York
- Rensselaer County, New York
- Richmond County, New York
- Rockland County, New York
- Saint Lawrence County, New York
- Saratoga County, New York
- Schenectady County, New York
- Schoharie County, New York
- Schuyler County, New York
- Seneca County, New York
- Steuben County, New York
- Suffolk County, New York
- Sullivan County, New York
- Tioga County, New York
- Tompkins County, New York
- Ulster County, New York
- Warren County, New York
- Washington County, New York
- Wayne County, New York
- Westchester County, New York
- Wyoming County, New York
- Yates County, New York