Top Facts
The total length of the New York State boundary is 1,430 miles:
- Canadian line / 445 miles
- Vermont line / 171 miles
- Massachusetts line / 50 miles
- Connecticut line to Long Island Sound / 81 miles
- Along the ocean around Long Island to the New Jersey shore / 246 miles
- New Jersey line / 93 miles
- Pennsylvania line / 344 miles to the beginning of the Canadian line in the middle of Lake Erie.
The boundaries are fixed by accepted agreements and are marked by natural watercourses or monuments.
The first railroad in America ran between Albany and Schenectady, a distance of 11 miles.
The Catskills are the home of the legend of Rip Van Winkle, brown trout and flycasting.
"Uncle Sam" was a meatpacker from Troy, New York. During the War of 1812, Sam Wilson stamped "U.S. Beef" on his products and soldiers interpreted that as Uncle Sam. His caricature later came to personify the United States. His gravesite is located in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.
New York was the first state to (1) preserve an historic site (Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh); (2) establish a state park (Niagara Reservation); and (3) declare land "forever wild" (the Adirondack and Catskill forest preserves) in the State Constitution.
The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
New York State Symbols
State Motto: Excelsior (Ever Upward) is the State's motto. In 1784, during a tour of the State's harbors, waterways and fertile interior, George Washington referred to New York as the "Seat of Empire." Since then, New Yorkers have worked ambitiously to live up to the State's motto and to make "The Empire State" the national leader it is today.
State Flag: The device of arms of the State flag was adopted in 1778 and the present flag is a modern version of a Revolutionary War flag. It is dark blue with the StateCoat of Arms in the center. The Coat of Arms shows Liberty and Justice standing either side of a shield upon which is emblazoned the sun rising behind a range of mountains. A three-masted, square-rigged ship and a Hudson River sloop signify commerce. Beneath the shield is the State motto. The original is at The Albany Institute of History and Art.
State Fruit: Apple. Apples were introduced in the 1600s by European settlers who brought seeds to New York. Dried apples were a staple for colonists and hard apple cider was a popular drink.
State Tree: Sugar Maple. The sugar maple yields a sweet sap for syrup and sugar in the spring; its heavy crown of leaves turns to brilliant colors in autumn. The wood makes fine furniture and burns well in woodstoves and fireplaces.
State Flower: Rose. The rose, in all its variety and color, was made the State flower in 1955. Roses have been appreciated throughout the centuries and are considered one of the most popular and widely cultivated flowers in the world today, with over 150 species and more than 20,000 hybrids available.
State Animal: Beaver. To provide beaver pelts to European markets, fur traders settled in the early 1600's near our present capital at Albany - to trade with Indians. Adult beavers are three- to four- feet long and weigh 40 to 50 pounds.
State Fish: Trout. Found in hundreds of lakes and ponds in the Adirondack Mountains and scattered in cool, clear streams throughout the State, native brook trout, called brookies or speckles, provide fine angling and the best of eating. bluebird picture and sound copyright, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
State Bird: Bluebird. Once-prolific, the red-breasted bluebird has been making a comeback from low numbers in the 1950s. Many people provide special nesting boxes along fencerows for bluebirds. They winter throughout the State.
State Fossil: Sea Scorpion. During the Silurian Age (over 400 million years ago), Eurypterus Remipes, an extinct relative of the modern king crab and sea scorpion, crawled along the bottom of the shallow, brackish sea that extended from Buffalo to Schenectady and south to Poughkeepsie, roughly along the route of the New York Thruway.
State Gem: Garnet. The wine-red garnet which is an eye appealing gem, as well as a prized industrial abrasive, is the State gem.
State Muffin: Apple Muffin. The apple muffin was created for the Bear Road Elementary School children in North Syracuse, who were instrumental in getting the Governor to sign a bill making it the official State muffin.
State Song: "I Love New York"
"I Love New York"
Words and music by Steve Karmen
I LOVE NEW YORK (repeat three times)
There isn't another like it.
No matter where you go.
And nobody can compare it.
It's win and place and show.
New York is special.
New York is diff'rent' cause there's no place else
on earth quite like New York and that's why
I LOVE NEW YORK. (repeat three times)
New York State Geography
The total area of New York State is 54,471.144 square miles (47,223.839 land and 7,247.305 inland water).
The geographic center of New York State is located in Madison County, approximately 12 miles south of Oneida and 26 miles southwest of Utica.
There are four mountain ranges in New York State: Adirondack, Catskill, Shawangunk and Taconic.
The highest point in New York State is Mount Marcy, Essex County in the Adirondacks - 5,344 feet above sea level.
The Hudson River is 306 miles long, and drains an area of 13,370 square miles. Its average discharge is 21,500 cubic feet per second.
The Hudson's most distant source is in Essex County.
Lake Tear of the Clouds in Essex County is the highest lake in the State - 4,320 feet above sea level - and is considered the source of the Hudson River.
There are 6,713 natural ponds, lakes and reservoirs of one acre or more, 76 with an area of one square mile or more.
There are 1,745 square miles of inland water, including some 4,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs.
Oneida Lake is the largest lake completely within the State.
Other prominent lakes are the Finger Lakes, Otsego Lake, Lake George, Lake Placid and Lake Champlain, which is 107 miles long.
The State has 70,000 miles of rivers and streams, 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 9,767 miles of shoreline which includes 8,778 miles of lake shoreline, 231 miles of shorefront on Long Island Sound, 548 miles of bayfront in Long Island area and 83 miles of shorefront of islands near Long Island.
There are 10 natural fresh-water lakes of 10 square miles or more; the largest, Lake Champlain in Clinton (Essex County), covers a 490-square-mile area and includes islands that total about 55 square miles.
Lake Erie borders on New York State for an airline distance of 64 miles. Its surface area in the U.S. totals 5,002 square miles.
Lake Ontario forms the northern boundary of New York State for an airline distance of 146 miles, and the area in the U.S. is 3,033 square miles.
At the site of Niagara Falls, the Niagara River spills 40 million gallons of water 180 feet downward each minute across a ragged ledge nearly 2/3 of a mile wide.
The New York State Barge Canal System is the longest internal waterway system in any state (800 miles or 1,280 kilometers) carrying over 2 million tons per year.
New York State has 62 counties, 62 cities, 553 villages and 932 towns.
Taughannock Falls in the Finger Lake region is the highest falls at 215 feet.
New York is a world capital with headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.