Description

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most denselypopulated U.S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey andPennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, andVermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in theAtlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well asan international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec tothe north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York,with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referredto as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, thestate's most populous city and its economic hub. With an estimatedpopulation of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the mostpopulous city in the United States and the premier gateway forlegal immigration to the United States. The New York CityMetropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerationsin the world.New York City is a global city, exerting a significantimpact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research,technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace definingthe term New York minute.The home of the United NationsHeadquarters, New York City is an important center forinternational diplomacy and has been described as the cultural andfinancial capital of the world, as well as the world's mosteconomically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of thepopulation of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's populationlives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% liveon Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. Thenext four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester,Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. Theearliest Europeans in New York were French colonists and Jesuitmissionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal fortrade and proselytizing. New York had been inhabited by tribes ofAlgonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for severalhundred years by the time Dutch settlers moved into the region inthe early 17th century. In 1609, the region was first claimed byHenry Hudson for the Dutch, who built Fort Nassau in 1614 at theconfluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, where the present-daycapital of Albany later developed. The Dutch soon also settled NewAmsterdam and parts of the Hudson Valley, establishing the colonyof New Netherland, a multicultural community from its earliest daysand a center of trade and immigration. The British annexed thecolony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony,the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-daystate. Many landmarks in New York are well known to bothinternational and domestic visitors, with New York State hostingfour of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions in 2013:Times Square, Central Park, Niagara Falls (shared with Ontario),and Grand Central Terminal.New York is home to the Statue ofLiberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom,democracy, and opportunity.In the 21st century, New York hasemerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship,[socialtolerance,and environmental sustainability. New York's highereducation network comprises approximately 200 colleges anduniversities, including Columbia University, Cornell University,New York University, and Rockefeller University, which have beenranked among the top 35 in the world.