New England

I

Introduction

New England, collective name given to the six states of the northeastern United States, namely Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The region is bordered on the west by New York, on the north by the Canadian provinces of Québec and New Brunswick, on the east by New Brunswick and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by Long Island Sound. New England encompasses a total area of about 176,000 sq km (about 68,000 sq mi).

The hilly and forested region was an early center of British settlement in North America. Many of the major events of America's colonial period, including the start of the American Revolution, took place in New England.

II

Geography of New England

Thousands of years ago, retreating ice sheets scoured the uplands that comprise New England, leaving behind an undulating surface and an indented coastline. The resulting landscape can be divided into a number of distinct natural regions.

A

Natural Regions

The Seaboard Lowland consists mainly of gently rolling hills, numerous lakes, swamps, and sandy beaches. The lowland extends from southeastern New York along the New England coast to eastern Maine. Distinctive features on the coastline include Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and the fjordlike coast of Maine.

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The New England Upland includes most of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and central and northern Maine. The upland consists of many small mountain ranges, rock-studded hills, numerous valleys, and thousands of small lakes and swamps.

The White Mountains rise inland from the New England Upland. The mountains extend southwestward from north central Maine across the northern part of New Hampshire into northeastern Vermont. The White Mountains are the highest and most extensive mountain range in New England. Mount Washington rises to 1,917 m (6,288 ft) in north central New Hampshire and is the highest peak in New England.

The Green Mountains extend from north to south through central Vermont into western Massachusetts (where they are known as the Berkshire Hills). The Green Mountains are generally lower and more rounded than the White Mountains. The highest peak is Mount Mansfield (1,339 m/4,393 ft).

The Connecticut Valley Lowland extends from central Massachusetts through central Connecticut to Long Island Sound. It is a broad, flat region with a few slightly rolling areas.

B

Rivers and Lakes

Of the numerous rivers and streams in New England the largest is the Connecticut, which rises in northeastern New Hampshire and flows southward for 655 km (407 mi) before emptying into Long Island Sound. Most of the northern part of the river forms the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont. Other important rivers are the Penobscot and Kennebec of Maine, and the Housatonic, which flows from western Massachusetts through Connecticut. All these rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the smaller rivers in Vermont, such as the Winooski, flow into Lake Champlain, between New York and Vermont.

Lake Champlain is the largest lake of the region. Other important lakes are Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and Moosehead Lake in Maine

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