Explore a destination located in New York, United States
The state of New York is home to many of the United States' most iconic destinations. Among these are historic sites where crucial events took place that shape the USA today. The state draws both millions of international and domestic travelers every year.[13] New York City itself boasts The Empire State Building, Times Square, Wall Street, NYC Central Park, and Central Park. It has become a hub of entertainment, cuisine, business, art, and history[14], and once served as the staging grounds for the millions of immigrants that came to become United States citizens in the early 1900s.[3] New York State has several nature reserves including the Adirondacks, the Catskills State Park, the Finger Lakes, Thousand Isles, and part of the Appalachian Trail. Niagara Falls is another famous tourist destination.[16] The climate sees all four seasons, making the summer months perhaps the best time for visitors to visit.[10] Historically New York was one of the Thirteen Colonies and is where many of the most significant battles in the Revolutionary War took place. [7]
New York State is located in the upper northeastern section of the United States. It initially served as the main entry point into the U.S., the iconic Statue of Liberty welcoming millions of immigrants and visitors from around the world. Today it is still known as one of the foremost international and domestic travel locations. In 2019 more than 265 million tourists visited the state. The state is most known for New York City, which hosts more than a quarter of the state's annual tourism, and consistently ranks in the top 10 global destination cities.[13]
Known for its sprawling skyscraper skyline, New York City, or more specifically Manhattan Island, has many things that draw visitors, both for business and for leisure. Some of the most distinct destinations in the city include the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Central Park, a massive tree-covered public park, covers a substantial part of Manhattan and is a place where people go to relax and enjoy a little bit of nature in the big city. The cuisine in New York City is famous for its diversity and exceptional quality. The theatre scene is also a major attraction with millions of people each year coming to catch a show or production at the NYC Broadway Theatre. Beyond this, shopping, fashion, history, architecture, art, and music all have a prominent foothold in what New York City has to offer.[14]
Times Square is a major intersection with entertainment, tourist sites, restaurants, and other commercial sites. Wall Street is well-known for its financial business opportunities, attracting business people from around the world.[14] The New York Stock Exchange in New York City hosts the most trusted and largest international equity exchange in the world and is a major economic center worldwide.[1] The subway system in New York City is also well-known and contains more than 600 miles of track connecting nearly 500 subway stations and reaching depths as low as 180 feet below the street. Since 2011, more than one and a half billion passengers ride the subway every year. [3]
New York is also the largest city in the United States in terms of population, beating Las Angeles as the number two by more than double. The city is home to 8 million people, more than a third of the state's total of just over 20 million. It is also the most diverse city in the nation, 42% of its inhabitants are White, 24% are Black, and 14% are Asian, leaving 20% spread throughout many other ethnicities and races. This diversity differs significantly from the state's ethnic diversity, which is 63% White, 15% Black, and 8% Asian, leaving a remaining 14% among other races. [15]
New York State has been around since the founding of America and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies. Because of its extensive history, it has dozens of national monuments, memorials, and historic sites. Chief among these is the Statue of Liberty which receives millions of tourists every year. Other places include the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, Stonewall National Monument in New York City, Saratoga National Historical Park, the New York Harbor Historic Sites (such as Ellis Island and Gateway), The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Governors Island, Federal Hall, and the African Burial Ground National Monument.[9]
A prominent attraction, drawing more than 10 million visitors every year, is Niagara Falls—three massive waterfalls in between Canada and the United States. These falls are nearly 1,100 feet long and 180 feet tall and produce around a quarter of the electric power for the Candian Province of Ontario and New York State. The National Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, showcasing famous athletes and games.[3] Other famous attractions consist of the Adirondacks and Catskills State Park (mountainous nature reserves), The Finger Lakes, Fire Island, Long Island, Letchworth State Park, the Thousand Islands area (a coastal region comprised of nearly 2,000 islands), and Shelter Island. Some of the more prominent cities in the state include its capital, Albany, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, and Ithica (home of Ivy League Cornell University).[16]
New York State is located in the Northeastern upper section of the United States. It shares borders with Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to its east side and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to its south. To its north and west, it is bounded by Lakes Erie and Ontario and shares borders with both the Ontario and Quebec Provinces of Canada. Long Island, which makes up the southern tip of the state, juts out in the Atlantic Ocean. [8]
The climate in New York sees all four seasons, though the temperature change isn't too drastic as the year passes. In the summer the average temperature ranges from 64 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, while the winter months drop to between 33 and 14 degrees. The fall and spring are somewhere in between these two extremes, though they tend to be cooler. New York itself has a tendency to have cloudy days. Precipitation averages 32 to 45 inches each year, varying depending on the location. Snowfall in the Syracuse and Buffalo area is unusually high due to their proximity to Lakes Erie and Ontario. This averages somewhere between 95 to 115 inches. [10]
Nearly two-thirds of New York is covered in forests and woodlands, comprising of more than 150 different types of trees, though mostly hardwoods, such as sugar maples and ash. In the northern, Adirondacks region of the state, fir and spruce trees become more common. New York's animal life is comprised mostly of small mammals, including grey squirrels, deer mice, snowshoe hares, eastern cottontails, woodchucks, muskrats, and raccoons—the state's most prominent animal. Larger mammals such as beavers, white-tailed deer, and black bears also inhabit the state. Many migratory birds spend part of the year in New York. Permanent avian residents include American goldfinches, eastern bluebirds, eastern meadowlarks, bluejays, several species of owls and woodpeckers, red-tailed hawks, mallards, cardinals, and cedar waxwings. [10]
The Adirondack Mountainous Region covers nearly 10,000 square miles of land and is made up of wood-covered foothills and peaks. Mount Marcy, the highest summit in New York is 5,344 feet tall, though more than 40 of the mountains reach above 4,000 feet. The Hudson River, a hallmark of the state, originates from the Adirondacks. Lakes Erie and Ontario are filled in part from rivers and streams that start here. In 1892, New York created the Adirondack Park. Here visitors can participate in all manner of camping, hiking, marine activities, winter sports—ice-skating, snowmobiling, bobsled, skiing, etc. They can also visit the Adirondack Museum, Fort Ticonderoga, Plattsburgh, and Lake George.[11] Made up of both private and public land, this park is larger than Glacier, Grand Canyon, Everglades, and Yellowstone National Parks combined.[3]
Part of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the longest length hiking foot-path in the world, snakes its way through the southern tip of New York. Stretching nearly 2200 miles, the protected nature trail passes through 14 states and various state and national parks. Since its establishment 100 years ago, thousands of people try and attempt to hike the entirety of the path each year. [12]
The New York area has been inhabited for nearly 12,000 years. By the 1100s two cultures primarily dominated the region, namely the Iroquoian and the Algonquian. in 1524 an Italian explorer named Giovanni da Verrazzano became the first European to discover the area before the Dutch claimed it as "New Netherland" in 1609. Though they had purchased the region from the Native Americans, England came and took it from them, naming it "New York" in 1664 after the brother of King Charles II who was the Duke of Albany and York. By the 1700s New York had become a prominent member of the Thirteen Colonies.[6]
The New York Colony area was decisive in the winning of the Revolutionary War. It was controlled by England for much of the revolution and spearheaded their movements and troops into America. However, the Hudson River was controlled by the Continental Army and provided the escape route for George Washington and his troops, More than a third of the battles fought in the war were in the New York State area. The first major military action the Colonies made was capturing Fort Ticonderoga. Other battles that took place in New York were the Battles of Oriskany and Newtown, and the Battle of Saratoga which was a key factor in the American Colonies' eventual victory.[7] After the war, New York became the eleventh state to join the United States of America, Largely due to Alexander Hamilton's involvement.[6]
New York has been the home of several 19th-century reform movements. For instance, many anti-slavery groups had their headquarters in the state. The nation's first convention for women's rights was held in Seneca Falls City in 1848.[5] New York is also the home to several significant advancements in transportation. These include hosting the first steamboat line in 1807, the construction of the Erie Canal in 1825, and the nation's first rail service with regularly scheduled intervals.[6]
Though Albany is the current state capital, New York City was once the capital of the United States of America. The inauguration of George Washington as the first president of the nation was performed in Federal Hall on Wall Street. The statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island in New York City Harbor, was built in 1886. It served as a gift from France in honor of the alliance the two countries shared during the American Revolution. Next to the Statue of Liberty is Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants from around the world came to the U.S. from the late-1800s to the mid-1900s to become American citizens. It's estimated that nearly 40% of Americans have an ancestor that came through Ellis Island.[3]
New York City is the primary location where the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place on September 11th, 2001. The Twin Towers, and the World Trade Center, were both hit by Boeing 767 commercial planes filled with 20,000 gallons worth of fuel. Over the course of a couple of hours, both towers fell, killing a total of 2,763 people at what is now known as "Ground Zero." September 11th is now known as "Patriot Day," a "National Day of Service and Remembrance."[4]
From the early to mid-1900s, more than a third of the state's employment was in manufacturing. Today that number has dwindled to less than 10% as employment has become rather varied. Finance, real estate, and insurance are more prominent in New York City. Rochester is responsible for much of New York's well-known instrument production, while Buffalo is more heavily focused on heavy industry. Albany, the state capital, is the primary area for government employees, and Binghamton City is where the headquarters for the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is located, employing many people in the computer and machine field.[2]
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