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| Geography | |
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Further information: Geology of Connecticut
New Haven
New London
Hartford
Stamford
Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital is Hartford, and other major cities (by population) include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich and Bristol. There are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut.
Bear Mountain, highest peak in Connecticut.
The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state. The highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42° 3' N; 73° 29' W), on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts.[17]
The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing into Long Island Sound. The most populous metropolitan region centered within the state lies in the Connecticut River Valley. Despite Connecticut's relatively small size, it features wide regional variations in its landscape; for example, in the northwestern Litchfield Hills, it features rolling mountains and horse farms, whereas in the southeastern New London County, it features beaches and maritime activities.
Although Connecticut has a long maritime history, and a reputation based on that history, Connecticut has no direct access to the sea. The jurisdiction of New York actually extends east at Fishers Island, where New York shares a sea border with Rhode Island dividing Narragansett Bay. Although Connecticut has easy access to the Atlantic, between Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound, Connecticut has no direct ocean coast.
Further information: List of Connecticut rivers
Highest point in Connecticut on slope of Mount Frissell, as seen from Bear Mountain.
Connecticut's rural areas and small towns in the northeast and northwest corners of the state contrast sharply with its industrial cities, located along the coastal highways from the New York border to New London, then northward up the Connecticut River to Hartford. Many towns center around a "green", such as the Litchfield Green, Lebanon Green (the largest in the state), and Wethersfield Green (the oldest in the state). Near the green typically stand historical visual symbols of New England towns, such as a white church, a colonial meeting house, a colonial tavern or "inne", several colonial houses, and so on, establishing a scenic historic appearance maintained for both historic preservation and tourism.
Connecticut consists of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. Northeastern coastal forests of oaks, hickories, and maple cover much of the state.[18] In the northwest, these give way to New England-Acadian forests of the Taconic Mountains.[18]
Further information: List of Connecticut state forests
The northern boundary of the state with Massachusetts is marked by the distinctive Southwick Jog or Granby Notch, an approximately 2.5 mile (4.0 km) square detour into Connecticut. The actual origin of this anomaly is clearly established in a long line of disputes and temporary agreements which was finally concluded in 1804, when southern Southwick, (whose residents sought to leave Massachusetts), was split in half.[19][20]
The southwestern border of Connecticut, where it abuts New York State, is marked by a panhandle in Fairfield County, containing the towns of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien and part of Norwalk. This irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 17th century, culminating with New York giving up its claim to the area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut, in exchange for an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield to the Massachusetts border as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.[21]
Further information: Connecticut Panhandle
Areas maintained by the National Park Service include: Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor; and Weir Farm National Historic Site.[22]
The Scoville Memorial Libraries collection began in 1771, when Richard Smith, owner of a local blast furnace, used community contributions to buy 200 books in London. Patrons could borrow and return books on the third Monday of every third month. Fees were collected for damages, the most common being "greasing" by wax dripped from the candles by which the patrons read.
[edit] Tags:Capital,Massachusetts,Mount Frissell,Long Island Sound,D,Id,Eastern,New England,Rhode Island,New York,New York State,Litchfield Hills,Fishers Island,Green,Colonial Meeting House,Tavern,Inne,Colonial Houses,Temperate Broadleaf And Mixed Forests,Northeastern Coastal Forests,Oaks,Hickories,Maple,New England-acadian Forests,Taconic Mountains,Panhandle,Rye, New York,National Park Service,Appalachian National Scenic Trail,Quinebaug And Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor,Weir Farm National Historic Site, | |
| Climate | |
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Interior portions of Connecticut have a humid continental climate, while the Connecticut shoreline (the state's southern four counties) has a borderline humid subtropical climate (sometimes statistically meeting this climate's criteria, sometimes not) with seasonal extremes tempered by proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Bridgeport (on Long Island Sound), like most other areas in metropolitan New York, typically falls within the humid subtropical climate zone under the Köppen Climate Classification system. Hartford (35 miles inland) has a humid continental climate. Consistent with its coastal reputation, Connecticut is a moderately sunny state, averaging between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually.[23]
Winters are generally considered to be cold, with average temperatures ranging from 38 °F (3 °C) in the maritime influenced southeast to 29 °F (−2 °C) in the northwest in January. The average yearly snowfall is about 20–60"(54–189 cm) across the state, with higher totals in the northwest. Spring has variable temperatures with frequent rainfall. Summer is hot and humid throughout the state, with average highs in New London of 81 °F (27 °C) and 87 °F (31 °C) in Windsor Locks. Fall months are mild and bring colorful foliage across the state in October and November. During hurricane season, tropical cyclones occasionally affect the region. Thunderstorms are most frequent during the summer, occurring on average 30 times annually. These storms can be severe, and the state usually averages one tornado per year.[24] Connecticut's warmest temperature is 106 °F (41 °C) which occurred in Danbury on July 15, 1995; the coldest temperature is −32 °F (−36 °C) which occurred in Falls Village on February 16, 1943 and Coventry on January 22, 1961.[25]
Monthly Normal High and Median Temperatures for Various Connecticut Cities
City
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Bridgeport
37/23
39/25
47/32
57/41
67/51
76/60
82/66
81/65
74/58
63/46
53/38
42/28
Hartford
35/16
39/19
47/27
59/38
70/48
79/57
84/63
82/61
74/51
63/40
52/32
40/22
[26][27]
[edit] Tags:/,Humid Subtropical Climate,Metropolitan New York,Sunshine, | |
| History | |
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)
This section requires expansion.
Main article: History of Connecticut
A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies.
The name of the state is an Anglicized version of the Algonquian word "quinatucquet", meaning "upon the long river".[28] The Connecticut region was inhabited by the Mohegan tribe prior to European colonization. The first European explorer in Connecticut was the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. After he explored this region in 1614, Dutch fur traders sailed up the Connecticut River (then known by the Dutch as Versche Rivier – "Fresh River") and built a fort at Dutch Point in what is present-day Hartford, which they called "House of Hope" (Dutch: Huis van Hoop).
John Winthrop, then of Massachusetts, received permission to create a new colony at Old Saybrook at the mouth of the Connecticut River in 1635. This was the first of three distinct colonies that later would be combined to make up Connecticut. Saybrook Colony was a direct challenge to Dutch claims. The colony was not more than a small outpost and never matured. In 1644, the Saybrook Colony merged itself into the Connecticut Colony.
The first English settlers came in 1633 and settled at Windsor, and then at Wethersfield the following year.[29] However, the main body of settlers came in one large group in 1636. The settlers were Puritans from Massachusetts, led by Thomas Hooker. Hooker had been prominent in England and was a professor of theology at Cambridge. He was also an important political writer and made a significant contribution to Constitutional theory. He broke with the political leadership in Massachusetts, and, just as Roger Williams created a new polity in Rhode Island, Hooker and his cohort did the same and established the Connecticut Colony at Hartford in 1636. This was the second of the three colonies.
The third colony was founded in March 1638. New Haven Colony (originally known as the Quinnipiack Colony) was established by John Davenport, Theophilus Eaton, and others at New Haven. The New Haven Colony had its own constitution, "The Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony", which was signed on June 4, 1639.
Because the Dutch were outnumbered by the flood of English settlers from Massachusetts, they left their fort in 1654.
Neither the establishment of the Connecticut Colony or the Quinnipiack Colony was carried out with the sanction of the English Crown, and they were independent political entities. They naturally were presumptively English, but in a legal sense, they were only secessionist outposts of Massachusetts Bay. In 1662, Winthrop took advantage of this void in political affairs and obtained in England the charter by which the colonies of Connecticut and Quinnipiack were united. Although Winthrop's charter favored the Connecticut colony, New Haven remained a seat of government with Hartford until after the American Revolution.
Winthrop was very politically astute and secured the charter from the newly restored Charles II, who granted the most liberal political terms.
Historically important colonial settlements included:
Windsor (1633)
Wethersfield (1634)
Saybrook (1635)
Hartford (1636)
New Haven (1638)
Fairfield (1639)
Guilford (1639)
Milford (1639)
Stratford (1639)
Farmington (1640)
Stamford (1641)
New London (1646)
Its first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders", was adopted on January 14, 1639, while its current constitution, the third for Connecticut, was adopted in 1965. Connecticut is the fifth of the original 13 states. The original constitutions influenced the US Constitution as one of the leading authors was Roger Sherman of New Haven.
The western boundaries of Connecticut have been subject to change over time. According to the Hartford Treaty with the Dutch, signed on September 19, 1650, but never ratified by the British, the western boundary of Connecticut ran north from Greenwich Bay for a distance of 20 miles[30][31] "provided the said line come not within 10 miles (16 km) [16 km] of Hudson River. This agreement was observed by both sides until war erupted between England and The Netherlands in 1652. No other limits were found. Conflict over uncertain colonial limits continued until the Duke of York captured New Netherland in 1664."[30][31] On the other hand, Connecticut's original Charter in 1662 granted it all the land to the "South Sea", i.e. the Pacific Ocean.[32][33] Most colonial royal grants were for long east-west strips. Connecticut took its grant seriously, and established a ninth county between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers, named Westmoreland County. This resulted in the brief Pennamite Wars with Pennsylvania.
Connecticut's lands also extended across northern Ohio, called the Western Reserve lands. The Western Reserve section was settled largely by people from Connecticut, and they brought Connecticut place names to Ohio. Agreements with Pennsylvania and New York extinguished the land claims by Connecticut within its neighbors, creating the Connecticut Panhandle. The Western Reserve lands were relinquished to the federal government, which brought the state to its present boundaries other than minor adjustments with Massachusetts.
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| Demographics | |
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Historical populations
Census
Pop.
%±
1790
237,946
—
1800
251,002
5.5%
1810
261,942
4.4%
1820
275,248
5.1%
1830
297,675
8.1%
1840
309,978
4.1%
1850
370,792
19.6%
1860
460,147
24.1%
1870
537,454
16.8%
1880
622,700
15.9%
1890
746,258
19.8%
1900
908,420
21.7%
1910
1,114,756
22.7%
1920
1,380,631
23.9%
1930
1,606,903
16.4%
1940
1,709,242
6.4%
1950
2,007,280
17.4%
1960
2,535,234
26.3%
1970
3,031,709
19.6%
1980
3,107,576
2.5%
1990
3,287,116
5.8%
2000
3,405,565
3.6%
2010
3,574,097
4.9%
Sources:[34][35][36]
Connecticut Population Density Map.
The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Connecticut was 3,580,709 on July 1, 2011, a 0.18% increase since the 2010 United States Census.[7]
As of 2005, Connecticut has an estimated population of 3,510,297,[37] which is an increase of 11,331, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 104,695, or 3.1%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 67,427 people (that is 222,222 births minus 154,795 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 41,718 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 75,991 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 34,273 people. Based on the 2005 estimates, Connecticut moves from the 29th most populous state to 30th.[37]
6.6% of its population was reported as being under 5 years old, 24.7% under 18 years old, and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. Females made up approximately 51.6% of the population, with 48.4% male.
In 1790, 97% of the population in Connecticut was classified as "rural". The first census in which less than half the population was classified as rural was 1890. In the 2000 census, it was only 12.3%. Most of western and southern Connecticut (particularly the Gold Coast) is strongly associated with New York City; this area is the most affluent and populous region of the state. Eastern Connecticut is more culturally influenced by the greater New England area, including the cities of Boston and Providence.
The center of population of Connecticut is located in the town of Cheshire.[38]
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| Race, ancestry, and language | |
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According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Connecticut had a population of 3,574,097. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 77.6% White (71.2% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 10.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.8% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 5.6% from Some Other Race, and 2.6% from Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 13.4% of the population.[39]
As of 2004, 11.4% of the population (400,000) was foreign-born. In 1870, native-born Americans had accounted for 75% of the state's population, but that had dropped to 35% by 1918.
As of 2000, 81.69% of Connecticut residents age 5 and older spoke English at home and 8.42% spoke Spanish, followed by Italian at 1.59%, French at 1.31% and Polish at 1.20%.[40]
The largest ancestry groups are:[41]
19.3% Italian
17.9% Irish
10.7% English
10.4% German
8.6% Polish
6.6% French
3.0% French Canadian
2.7% American
2.1% Russian
2.1% West Indian
2.0% Scottish
2.0% Swedish
1.6% Portuguese
1.4% Scotch Irish
1.2% Hungarian
1.0% Lithuanian
Connecticut has large Italian American, Tags:Latin, | |
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