New York, the largest of the Middle Atlantic states, is bordered on the east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Pennsylvania and New Jersey, on the west by Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the north by the province of Quebec. New York has a total area of 127,189 sq km (49,108 sq mi), of which 4,518 sq km (1,745 sq mi) are inland water. New York's 1990 resident census population was 17,990,455, up slightly from 17,558,072 in 1980. The state is second only to California in population. In 1664 the colony passed from Dutch to British hands and was named New York for the duke of York (later King James II). Almost from its beginnings New York has been known as the Empire State. Until recently it led all other states in population, and it still leads in manufacturing, wholesale trade, communication, and finance. Although New York's economy is generally healthy, the state has experienced periods of slower economic growth than other parts of the country, of slowing or declining population growth, and of rising costs for social services and education. Political leaders warn of the growing gap between rich and poor. LAND AND RESOURCES The \TAdirondack Mountains\t, part of the Laurentian Mountain system, in northeastern New York, constitute about a quarter of the state and rise to elevations above 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Mount Marcy, the highest point in the state, has an elevation of 1,629 m (5,344 ft). West of the Adirondacks the Tug Hill Plateau is a tableland of low relief and sluggish streams. Northeast of the Adirondacks the St. Lawrence-Champlain lowland forms a corridor between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The Hudson River originates in the Adirondacks and flows south through its 16-to-32-km-wide (10-to-20-mi) valley. The Taconic Mountains, which lie along the eastern border of the state to the east of the Hudson, reach elevations above 610 m (2,000 ft). South of the Taconics the Manhattan Hills include most of Westchester County and Manhattan Island. West of the Hudson River the Hudson highlands, about 305 m (1,000 ft) in elevation, extend southwest. The Triassic lowland is a wedge of low, rolling terrain just south of the Hudson highlands. Their best-known feature is the \TPalisades\t, sheer cliffs of igneous rock forming the west bank of the Hudson River. The major features west of the Hudson, however, are part of the Appalachian Mountain system, which occupies nearly half the state in the south. The eastern part of this region is known as the \TCatskill Mountains\t, a rugged section with elevations reaching about 1,220 m (4,000 ft), with steep, narrow valleys. Slide Mountain, at an elevation of 1,281 m (4,203 ft), is the highest peak. West of the Catskills the land is hilly, the central and lowest portion of the upland consisting of the Finger Lakes Hills, characterized by deep glaciated valleys. Near the extreme southwest corner of the state are the \TAllegheny Mountains\t, the only unglaciated part of the upland. Soils A broad belt of lime-rich soils extends eastward along the Erie-Ontario Lake plain, into the Mohawk and Hudson valleys, and along parts of the St. Lawrence valley. Most of the Adirondacks, Tug Hill Plateau, and Catskills are covered by shallow acid soils. On a large part of the Appalachian Plateau soils are deep and acid. Major stream valleys are generally composed of relatively fertile alluvial soils. Climate Mean annual precipitation for most of the state is about 889 to 1,143 mm (35 to 45 in). Along Lakes Erie and Ontario are belts of especially heavy snowfall. The Tug Hill Plateau, for example, receives more than 4,445 mm (175 in) of snow each winter--the heaviest snowfall east of the Rocky Mountains. Generally, January mean temperatures in the state are below 0 deg C (32 deg F), except in the New York City area, and July mean temperatures are about 21 deg C (70 deg F). Rivers and Lakes New York has approximately 112,630 km (70,000 mi) of streams and about 14,620 sq km (5,645 sq mi) of lakes and ponds. East of the Adirondacks is Lake \TChamplain\t, on the border between New York and Vermont, and just south of it is Lake \TGeorge\t. The \TFinger Lakes\t are in central New York, and northeast of Syracuse is Lake Oneida. New York's waters reach the ocean at widely separated locations from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. The largest of the drainage basins consists of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence systems, which carry the waters of much of western, central, and northeastern New York. The \TNiagara River\t as well as the Genesee and the Black rivers are in this system. The \THudson River\t system drains parts of eastern New York, reaching the Atlantic Ocean at New York Bay. Its largest tributary is the \TMohawk River\t. Southwestern New York is drained by the \TAllegheny River\t system, which reaches the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Central New York is drained by the \TSusquehanna River\t and its tributaries and by the \TDelaware River\t basin, both flowing into Chesapeake Bay. Vegetation and Animal Life Today trees cover 50% of the state. In the southeast oaks predominate, and in the higher Adirondacks spruce and fir predominate. Northern hardwoods, including birch, sugar maple, basswood, ash, and yellow birch, comprise the majority of trees in the rest of the state. Oaks are intermingled with the northern hardwoods in the Finger Lakes region, and along much of the Hudson Valley; the Ontario and Saint Lawrence plains have an abundance of elm and red maple. Animals commonly found in the state are the fox, raccoon, opossum, woodchuck, muskrat, deer, rabbit, and squirrel. The many species of birds that inhabit the region include the predatory hawks, eagles, and owls. Resources New York is endowed with adequate supplies of both surface and groundwater. The Adirondack region has some of the state's richest mineral deposits, such as iron, lead, and zinc. Petroleum and natural gas are found near Lake Erie. New York's fertile valleys and plains produce varied agricultural products, especially fruit and dairy products. Commercial fishing is an important industry off Long Island. PEOPLE The population of New York (1990 resident census) is 17,990,455. The average population density is 147 per sq km (380 per sq mi), but density ranges from about 1 per sq km (3 per sq mi) to more than 26,097 per sq km (67,615 per sq mi) on Manhattan. More than 60% of the state's population is concentrated in the New York City urban area, and nearly 85% of the total population is urban. Other major urban areas include \TBuffalo\t, \TRochester\t, \TSyracuse\t, \TAlbany\t (the state capital), \TNiagara Falls\t, \TUtica\t, \TSchenectady\t, \TBinghamton\t, and \TTroy\t. The nonwhite population in the state is about 25%, ranging from 48% in New York City to 11% in Schenectady, the state's tenth largest city. In 1990 most of the total nonwhite population lived in cities of more than 50,000, and nearly 85% lived in New York's ten largest cities. The state experienced substantial out-migration during the 1980s. The white population declined by about 4% from 1980 to 1990, while Asians, New York's fastest-growing ethnic group, grew by 123%. Roman Catholics make up by far the most numerous religious group in the state. The Jewish population is over 10% of the total. Education Education in New York is the responsibility of the 16 regents of the University of the State of New York, a body formed in 1784. They have powers to set standards, distribute public funds, and provide for the supervision of instruction in public schools and the quality of teaching in private schools. Libraries, museums, and historical sites are incorporated and regulated by the regents, and all professions, except law, are under their direction. The State University of New York (SUNY) was created in 1948 (see \TNew York, State University of\t). The City University of New York (See \TNew York, City University of\t) Private institutions of higher education in the state include \TColumbia University\t, Fordham University, and \TNew York University\t, in New York City; \TCornell University\t at \TIthaca\t; \TSarah Lawrence College\t in Bronxville; \TSkidmore College\t in \TSaratoga Springs\t; and \TVassar College\t in POUGHKEEPSIE; as well as the \TUnited States Military Academy\t at West Point and the \TUnited States Merchant Marine Academy\t at Kings Point. Cultural Institutions New York City is the focus of much of the nation's cultural and artistic life. In addition, Albany has the New York State Museum and the Albany Institute of History and Art. Binghamton has the Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences; Buffalo has the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Buffalo Museum of Science. Corning has the famous Corning Glass Center, where the Steuben glassmaking process may be observed, and the Rockwell Museum. In Rochester is the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and the Memorial Art Gallery. Historic Sites New York has many restored colonial homes and historic sites, among them Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving, in Tarrytown. Lyndhurst, the 19th-century mansion of Jay Gould, is maintained, also in Tarrytown, by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Historic Site in \THyde Park\t is open to the public. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is in \TCooperstown\t. Fort \TTiconderoga\t, on the shores of Lake Champlain, has been restored. The major vacation areas are \TNiagara Falls\t, the Adirondack and Catskill mountains, the Finger Lakes and Great Lakes, Long Island, and New York City. The Adirondacks are protected under an 1885 law establishing the Forest Preserve, and the state park was established in 1892, covering 23,029 sq km (8,891 sq mi). The Catskill Park, also part of the forest preserve, covers 2,786 sq km (1,075 sq mi) and includes some of the wildest country in the Northeast. The state owns 19 parks in the Finger Lakes region, and Fire Island is part of a National Seashore. New York has several major sports teams, including the New York Giants and Jets, and the Buffalo Bills (football); the New York Cosmos (soccer); the New York Yankees and Mets (baseball); the New York Knickerbockers (basketball); and the New York Rangers, Islanders, and the Buffalo Sabres (hockey). ECONOMIC ACTIVITY New York leads the nation in banking, securities, and communications industries. Financial activities--including insurance--and real estate are the most important segments of the service industries, which overall provide about 80% of the gross state product. Manufacturing maintains great importance, but agriculture, mining, and forestry and fishing, although of local significance, contribute only small amounts to the gross state product. Manufacturing Until the 1970s, when it dropped behind California, New York was the leading U. S. industrial state. It is still a leading manufacturing state. Buffalo specializes in heavy industry (although a great deal of steel capacity was closed down in the 1980s), and Rochester is the national leader in the manufacture of photographic and optical equipment. Syracuse produces primary metals, machinery, and paper; Utica and Rome, machinery and transportation equipment; Albany, Troy, and Schenectady, paper; and Binghamton, computers and business machines. New York City is noted for its garment and publishing industries as well as for food processing. Leading industries statewide include making women's outerwear, publishing and printing periodicals, producing electronic components and computers and office machines, book publishing and printing, and manufacturing communications equipment. Agriculture New York ranks in the mid-range of U. S. states in the value of its agricultural production. The amount of land occupied by farms has declined, attributable in large measure to urbanization, and the number of people employed in agriculture has dropped, too. Production has not diminished proportionately, however, because of larger farms, greater technology, and more capital investment. Dairy products account for the bulk of all farm income. Important crops include apples, hay and corn for silage, and vegetables from truck farms. Mining Much of the value of New York's mineral production comes for nonmetallic minerals, including cement, stone, clays, sand and gravel, gypsum, garnets, salt, talc, and petroleum. New York is virtually the only U. S. producer of wollastonite (a paper and paint filler) and of emery. Metals include lead, zinc, iron, and silver. Energy Hydroelectric sources account for about one-quarter of the power generated in New York. The two largest hydroelectric projects are the Niagara Power Project and the St. Lawrence Power Project, both jointly developed by the state of New York and the province of Ontario. Of the thermal power sources, about one-third comes form oil-fired plants and the remainder is more-or-less evenly divided among coal-fired plants, gas-fired units, and nuclear power plants. Forestry and Fishing New York's lumber production is centered in the Adirondacks and consists chiefly of softwoods. Elsewhere in the state small amounts of hardwood are cut for specialized uses. New York also produces limited quantities of wood pulp, partially supplying its paper industries. Commercial fishing yields a small revenue, with marine fisheries around Long Island producing a variety of fish and shellfish. Overfishing and pollution have reduced the catch in recent years. Lakes Erie and Ontario, as well as the Hudson and Niagara rivers, support minor freshwater fishing, but pollutants have nearly eliminated these sources. Tourism Tourism and recreation contribute much to the state's economy. Multitudes visit New York City, but many millions of tourists are attracted annually by the numerous state parks, campgrounds, and historical sites elsewhere in the state. Privately operated recreation centers, both summer and winter, draw many more. Transportation New York has an extensive network of highways and roads, including the world's longest toll superhighway, the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, with a length of 899 km (558 mi). A pioneering railroad state, New York has several thousand miles of railroad track traversing it. The \TNew York State Barge Canal\t system, completed in 1918, is a state-operated waterway totaling 840 km (522 mi). Other major navigable waterways are the Hudson River, the Saint Lawrence River (via the Seaway), and Lakes Erie and Ontario. The Port of New York is one of the world's biggest and busiest. Buffalo is a leading Great Lakes port. With nearly 500 airports, New York can handle seaplanes and helicopters as well as long-distance aircraft. Besides the 3 New York City airports--Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark (N.J.) --other large airports are Greater Buffalo International, Rochester-Monroe County, Syracuse Hancock International, and Albany County. GOVERNMENT The present state government is organized under the constitution adopted in 1894, with subsequent amendments. The executive branch of government consists of the governor, elected to a 4-year term, assisted by 3 other elected officials--the lieutenant governor, the comptroller, and the attorney general. Under the governor are 20 administrative departments, with their heads appointed by the governor with senate approval. The legislature consists of two houses, the senate and assembly. In 1971, 60 revised senatorial districts, based on population, were established with 1 senator elected from each district. Assembly districts, generally conforming to counties, provide for the election of 150 assemblymen. Both senators and assemblymen are elected for 2-year terms. New York is organized into 11 judicial districts, forming the supreme court. Justices are elected by the voters of a district for a term of 14 years. The appellate court is organized into 4 judicial departments with justices chosen by the governor. The court of appeals is the highest state court. It consists of a chief judge and 6 associates elected for 14-year terms. Local government exists in counties, cities, towns, villages, and special districts, the largest of which is the Port of New York Authority. Most cities and villages are governed by a mayor and a council; only a few cities, such as Rochester, have a city manager. HISTORY Two Indian groups occupied what is now New York State when Europeans began exploration and settlement. \LAlgonquin\ls, composed of several tribes, occupied much of the Hudson Valley, Manhattan, and Long Island, while the Iroquois controlled most of the rest of the state area. About 1570 the Iroquois formed the \TIroquois League\t, consisting of the \TCayuga\t, \TMohawk\t, \TOneida\t, \TOnondaga\t, and \TSeneca\t tribes. The league dominated or conquered many other tribes in the region. In 1722 the \TTuscarora\t were added to the confederation. The Colonial Period This era began with the exploration of the Hudson River; Giovanni da \TVerrazano\t is believed to have sailed into New York Bay in 1524. In 1609, Henry \THudson\t sailed as far as present-day Albany in the service of the Dutch. The first settlement was Fort Nassau (1614-18) at present-day Albany. In 1621 the \TDutch West India Company\t was chartered and empowered to establish the colony of \TNew Netherland\t. Between 1624 and 1626 a series of Dutch forts were established along the Hudson, from Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan to Fort Orange (replacing Fort Nassau) at Albany. Dutch settlement was slow, however, in part because of the land-granting system of patroonships (see \Tpatroons\t). Originating in 1629, patroonships were land grants of approximately 25 km (16 mi) along one side of the Hudson River or about 13 km (8 mi) on both banks and reaching an unspecified distance away from the river. The system was fraught with difficulties because it relied on tenant farming rather than outright land grants to settlers. In 1664 the British sent a fleet to New York Harbor, and Peter \TStuyvesant\t, the Dutch governor, surrendered the colony to the British, who renamed it New York after the duke of York. The colony saw important territorial changes under British rule. In 1664, New Jersey was separated from the rest of the colony. The boundary between New York and Connecticut was established basically as it exists today in 1665. In 1688, New York and New Jersey were combined with the New England colonies in the Dominion of New England under Sir Edmund \TAndros\t. News of the Glorious Revolution in England and the overthrow of Andros in Boston encouraged a rebellion in New York led by Jacob \TLeisler\t. He won control and ruled the colony for 2 years (1689-91) before royal authority was restored. In the aftermath of the rebellion the crown established (1691) a legislative assembly, which assumed increasing responsibility in the following decades. New York was a pivotal colony during the \TFrench and Indian Wars\t, which were fought for control of North American trade and territory. New York's location near Canada exposed the colony to French attack, and British armies launched attacks on Montreal and Quebec from Albany. A series of wars with intermittent periods of peace culminated in the final defeat of the French in 1761, establishing British control over what is now New York State. Settlers from New England then began to drift westward into New York, and the population began to rise. New York also occupied a strategic position during the American Revolution. About a third of the major battles were fought in the state. To thwart the British drive for control of New York City, Gen. George \TWashington\t tried unsuccessfully in August 1776 to defend it against superior British forces led by Sir William \THowe\t. A series of battles lasted 3 months, and then the conflict shifted to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The British drive along the Mohawk was thwarted by their defeat at the Battle of Oriskany, near Fort Stanwix (present-day Rome), in August 1777. In July 1777 the British general John \TBurgoyne\t captured \TCrown Point\t, Ticonderoga, and Fort Edward. In October the Americans and British met in a decisive battle at Bemis Heights near Saratoga, where Burgoyne was forced to surrender (see \TSaratoga, Battles of\t). Statehood and Economic Growth During the Revolution a constitution was adopted in April 1777, creating New York State with its temporary capital at Kingston. In 1797, Albany became the permanent capital. Alexander \THamilton\t and John \Tjay\t, leaders of the New York delegation to the Constitutional Convention, were strong supporters of adoption of the federal Constitution. A bitter contest developed within the state on this issue, but eventually New York became the 11th of the 13 original states to ratify the new constitution on July 26, 1788. By the end of the first quarter of the 19th century New York had millions of acres of land cleared and was exporting agricultural goods; manufacturing flourished; and New York City had become a leading trade and industrial center. Part of this growth resulted from the expansion of transportation facilities. In addition to the natural waterways, a system of turnpikes spread across the state. The \TErie Canal\t, linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie, was completed in 1825. The first railway opened (1831) between Albany and Schenectady, and within another 25 years most parts of the state were linked by rail. Robert \TFulton\t'S first successful steamboat appeared on the Hudson River in 1807. By 1820, New York led all other states in population, and by 1850 it was the leading manufacturing state. A democratization of New York society took place during the 1830s and '40s; suffrage was extended and, after the bitter \TAntirent War\t, tenant farmers were given the opportunity to own the land they farmed. Slavery was abolished and women's rights, temperance, and educational and prison reform were pursued. Many of the nation's leaders arose in New York at this time, among them De Witt Clinton (see \TClinton\t family), Martin \TVan Buren\t, and William H. \TSeward\t. Horace \TGreeley\t, another notable New Yorker, was among the leaders of the antislavery movement as the country moved toward the Civil War. During the war 500,000 New Yorkers fought, and 50,000 of them were killed. After the war, economic development in New York proceeded at a rapid pace; corporations grew larger and giant trusts appeared. Urbanization was also rapid, with huge numbers of immigrants from Europe pouring into the state. Along with these developments came such social ills as corporate malpractice, political corruption, unjust labor conditions, and inadequate social services. Into this situation stepped the political institution known as \TTammany Hall\t. In the 1780s a largely middle-class group was formed to combat the aristocratic Revolutionary leaders. By the mid-19th century the group was firmly in the hands of Irish politicians who dominated New York City politics, culminating in the control of the Democratic machine after 1868 by William Marcy \Ttweed\t. Republican control of upstate politics intensified the conflict, and such nationally prominent New Yorkers as Samuel J. \TTilden\t, Grover \TCleveland\t, Theodore \TRoosevelt\t, Franklin D. \TRoosevelt\t, and Charles Evans \THughes\t fought for reform of this machine. Investigations, such as the Seabury Commission (1931-32), and the mayoral administration of Fiorello H. \TLa Guardia\t (1934-45) in New York City saw the eventual curtailment of Tammany Hall power. The Modern Era Since World War II the gap between New York City and the upstate region has not closed. The city, with a gross economic product larger than all but a few nations, remains the focus of much of the economic, financial, and cultural life of the nation. The deepening financial woes of the nation's cities, with eroding tax bases and increasing needs for social services, make it likely that the state and New York City will become more closely linked. In spite of this trend, the traditionally liberal Democratic city and the traditionally conservative Republican upstate will probably remain in conflict in many areas. Concern for the environment intensified during the 1960s as two Pure Waters Bond Acts were approved. Later, other programs made possible the acquisition of more forest wetlands, urban parks, and other ecologically or recreationally valuable areas and provided funding for the cleaning up of hazardous waste sites. Despite a decreased pace of population and industrial growth, the state has continued to produce some leaders of national stature. Former Gov. Nelson \TRockefeller\t, who ran three times unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the presidency, was appointed vice-president in 1974. In 1984 Geraldine \TFerraro\t, a U. S. representative from Queens, was the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, and during the late 1980s and into the new decade Gov. Mario \TCuomo\t was a leading spokesman of the Democratic party. Howard H. Flierl Bibliography: \TGeneral\t: Bliven, Bruce, Jr., New York (1981); Ellis, David M., et al., New York: The Empire State, 4th ed. (1975); Federal Writers' Project, New York: A Guide to the Empire State (1940; repr. 1972). \Tarchaeology\t AND \Tgeography\t: Ritchie, William A., The Archaeology of New York State, rev. ed. (1969); Thompson, John H., ed., Geography of New York State (1966). \Thistory\t: Colby, P. W., and White, J. K., eds., New York State Today (1989); Ellis, David M., et al., History of New York State, rev. ed. (1967); Irving, Washington, Knickerbocker's History of New York, ed. by Anne C. Moore (1959); Kammen, Michael, Colonial New York (1975); Van der Zee, Henri and Barbara, A Sweet and Alien Land: The Story of the Dutch in New York (1978). \LPolitic\ls AND \Tgovernment\t: Gunn, L. R., The Decline of Authority (1988); McClelland, P. D., and Magdovitz, A. L., Crisis in the Making (1981).