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.

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

C.

Climate

Most of New England has a cool, humid climate, but there are great variations within the region. The northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have a humid continental short summer climate with rather cool summers and long, cold winters. The southern New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have a humid continental long summer climate with hot summers and cold winters. Many people think that the most pleasant season in New England is the long, dry fall, with crisp, cool nights and bright, sunny days. Spring is frequently a cool, wet, and cloudy season in New England. The weather is complicated by the fact that many of the low-pressure areas of the North American continent are carried eastward or northeastward across New England, causing frequent changes in weather—this changeableness is a subject of great local pride and conversation.

Precipitation throughout most of New England averages 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in) a year, although in the northern parts of Maine and Vermont the annual rainfall is 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 40 in). Snowfall in the northern mountainous areas often exceeds 2,500 mm (100 in) annually.

D.

Vegetation

Before the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century, some 90 percent of New England was covered by forests. The forested areas were greatly reduced by rapid, careless clearing of land for farmland and timber. However, much of the region, particularly the northern part, is still heavily forested with birch, beech, maple, and hemlock. In a large part of Maine and in the higher mountain sections a spruce-fir forest predominates, while some areas, such as Cape Cod, have an oak-pine forest.

Particular parts of New England are famous for a single crop or forest product. Northern Maine’s Aroostook County is a leading potato producing region. The Connecticut Valley Lowlands produce Connecticut Shadegrown, a variety of premium tobacco used for cigar wrappers. Cape Cod is famous for its cranberry bogs. Vermont is a noted producer of maple syrup and maple sugar. Aside from specialty crops such as these, New England is not a notable agricultural region, as its climate, topography, and soil do not foster large-scale crop production.

III.

People of New England

About 14.2 million people live in New England (2004 estimate). They make up about 5 percent of the total U.S. population.

A.

Urban Areas

The greater metropolitan area of Boston, Massachusetts, accounts for more than 40 percent of New England’s population. Smaller New England cities include Providence, Rhode Island; Worcester, Massachusetts; Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut; and Manchester, New Hampshire. The populations of the southern New England states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) are overwhelmingly urban, while those of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are more rural.

B.

Historical Settlement

New England was originally home to Algonquian-speaking Native American peoples who entered the region by about 10,000 years ago. By the 17th century the major groups included the Abenaki, Massachuset, Mohegan, Narragansett, Pennacook, and Wampanoag.

The first permanent European settlements in New England were established by the Pilgrims, English religious dissidents who landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 (see Plymouth Colony). During the rest of the 17th century, other settlers from England founded Boston, Providence, New Haven, and other towns along the coast. Subsequent British colonists pushed into the interior of the region in search of more and better land. By the middle of the 18th century, most of the valleys of Vermont and New Hampshire had been settled.

During the first half of the 19th century, many French Canadians settled in Maine and in northern New Hampshire. The Irish Famine of the 1840s drove thousands of people from Ireland to Massachusetts, particularly Boston. Later in the 19th century, immigrants seeking political and religious freedom or economic opportunity poured into the region from all parts of Europe, including Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, and Poland. In the early 20th century, the population growth of the region was further stimulated by the arrival of African Americans migrating from the South.

Most immigrants and other new arrivals settled in New England’s cities. Many small villages in New England are still populated largely by descendants of the original settlers.

For more information on the history of New England, see the History sections of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.