History of New York: The Empire State

Geography

With a land area of 47,224 square miles, a water area of 6,765 square miles, and a coastline of 127 miles, the total area of New York State is 53,989 square miles large, 27th in rank. The highest point of the state is Mount Marcy with an elevation of 5,344 feet, and the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean at sea level.

Image via Virtual Tourist

Climate

The average January temperature is 14°F in the Adirondack Mountains and 30°F along the coast. The average July temperature is 66°F in the Adirondack Mountains and 74°F along the coast. The highest temperature ever recorded was 108°F in Troy on July 22, 1926. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -52°F in Old forge on February 18, 1979.

Economy

New York has three types of economy. There is the finance and services economy, there is the government and manufacturing economy, and there is the transportation and trade economy.

Both the finance and services categories of economy were 57 percent of the New York State gross product in 2001, and because of this, New York’s economy is based on finance, and service industries. A lot of the nations biggest banks and many of the largest corporations have there headquarters in New York City.

The government and manufacturing were in third and fourth place in the 2001 gross state product. For more than 150 years, New York was a leader in manufacturing. Though a lot of businesses closed down in the 20th century, New York still manufactures many different types of products.

Transportation and trade was only seven percent of the gross state product in 2001. New York City is a leader in the communications industries and wholesale and retail trade, while buffalo is a big transportation and trade center.

Agriculture

Today agriculture is not as important as it was in New York’s earlier history. The number of farms has continually declined through out the 20th century. In 2003, there were only 37,000 farms, and only 25 percent of those farms had profits over $100,000. New York’s leading agriculture product is milk while other leading crops include fruits, apples, tart cherries, strawberries, pears, cabbage, corn, and onions. Vineyards in the Lake Erie area, the Finger Lakes region, the Hudson Valley, and eastern Long Island have become successful wine industries. Maple syrup and the nursery industry are both another part of New York’s agriculture economy.

Places to Visit

Some places to visit in New York are Niagara Falls, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. Niagara Falls is located on the Niagara River that connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Over 750,000 gallons go over Niagara Falls each second. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States on June 19, 1885 as a gift of friendship from France. The Statue stands 305 feet high on Ellis Island. The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper that was the tallest building in the world for more than forty years. It is located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. So next time you visit New York, you might want to look into visiting some of these places.

Image via East Coast Adventures