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Connecticut,
CT

Connecticut is a state located in the New
England region of the northeastern United States of America.
Southwestern Connecticut is also considered part of the New
York metropolitan area. Connecticut is the 29th most populous
state with 3.4 million residents and ranked 48th in size by
area, making it the 4th most densely populated state.
Called the "Constitution State," Connecticut
has a long history dating from the early colonial times, and
was influential in the development of early American
government. While Connecticut's first European settlers were
Dutch, the first major settlements were established in the
1630s by the English.
Thomas Hooker led a band of followers overland
from the Massachusetts Bay colony and founded what would
become the Connecticut Colony; other settlers from
Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven
Colony.
Both the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies
established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the
first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the disparate
colonies merged under a royal charter, making Connecticut a
crown colony.
This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies
that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.
Connecticut enjoys a temperate climate thanks to its long
coastline on the Long Island Sound. This has given the state a
strong maritime tradition. Modern Connecticut is also known
for its wealth.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Connecticut had
ready access to raw materials which helped to develop a strong
manufacturing industry. In the 19th and 20th centuries,
financial organizations flourished: first insurance companies
in Hartford, then hedge funds along the Gold Coast.
This prosperity has helped give Connecticut the
highest per capita income and median household income in the
country.
Geography
Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long
Island Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by
Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island.
The state capital is Hartford, and the other
major cities include New Haven, New London, New Britain,
Norwich, Milford, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury, Danbury and
Bridgeport. There are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut.
There is an ongoing civic pride and economic
competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back
to the days when the two cities shared the state's capital,
and even back to the rivalry between New Haven Colony and
Connecticut Colony.
The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear
Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state.
The highest point is just east of where
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42° 3' N; 73°
29' W), on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak
lies nearby in Massachusetts.
The Connecticut River cuts through the center
of the state, flowing into Long Island Sound, Connecticut's
outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Further information: List of
Connecticut rivers Despite its size, the state has regional
variations in its landscape and culture from the wealthy
estates of Fairfield County's "Gold Coast" to the rolling
mountains and horse-farms of the Litchfield Hills of
northwestern Connecticut.
Connecticut's rural areas and small towns in
the northeast and northwest corners of the state contrast
sharply with its industrial cities, located along the coastal
highways from the New York border to New Haven, then
northwards to Hartford, as well as further up the coast near
New London.
Many towns center around a small park, known as
a "green," (such as the New Haven Green), Litchfield Green,
Simsbury Green, and New Milford Green(the largest in the
state).
Near the green may stand a small white church,
a town meeting hall, a tavern and several colonial houses.
Forests, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and a sandy shore add to
the state's beauty.
The northern boundary of the state with
Massachusetts is marked by the distinctive Southwick
Jog/Granby Notch, an approximately 2.5 mile (4.0 km) square
detour into Connecticut slightly west of the center of the
border.
Somewhat surprisingly, the actual origin of
this anomaly is not absolutely certain, with stories ranging
from surveyors who were drunk, attempting to avoid hostile
Native Americans, or taking a shortcut up the Connecticut
River; Massachusetts residents attempting to avoid
Massachusetts' high taxes for the low taxes of Connecticut;
Massachusetts' interest in the resources represented by the
Congamond Lakes which lie on the border of the jog; and the
need to compensate Massachusetts for an amount of land given
to Connecticut due to inaccurate survey work.
The dispute over the border slowed development
in the region, since neither state would invest in public
services for the area until the dispute had been settled.
The southwestern border of Connecticut, where
it abuts New York State, is marked by a panhandle in Fairfield
County, containing the towns of Greenwich, Stamford, New
Canaan and Darien.
This irregularity in the boundary is the result
of territorial disputes in the late 1600s, culminating with
New York giving up its claim to this area, whose residents
considered themselves part of Connecticut, in exchange for an
equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield,
Connecticut to the Massachusetts border as well as undisputed
claim to Rye, New York.
Areas maintained by the National Park Service
include: Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Quinebaug &
Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor; and Weir
Farm National Historic Site.
This article is licensed under
the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "Connecticut".
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