Vermont is a U.S. state located in New England. The state ranks 43rd in land area (9,250 sq mi), is the most rural, and its population (608,827) ranks as the second smallest of the 50 states. As the only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the Green Mountains in the west and Lake Champlain in the northwest. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north.
Ascutney Bellows Falls Bennington Bolton Valley Brattleboro Brownsville Burlington Cavendish Chittenden Colchester Corinth Essex Junction Grafton Killington Ludlow Mendon Middlebury Montpelier Quechee Rutland Shaftsbury Shelburne Smugglers Notch South Burlington Stowe Stratton Mountain Waitsfield Warren Waterbury West Dover White River Junction Williston Wilmington Woodstock
Originally inhabited by Native American tribes (Iroquois, Algonquian and Abenaki), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France but became a British possession after France's defeat in the French and Indian War. For many years, rightful control of the area was disputed by the surrounding colonies. Settlers who held land titles granted by the Province of New Hampshire, through their Green Mountain Boys militia, eventually prevailed. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States, following a 14-year period during and after the Revolutionary War as the independent Republic of Vermont.
Famous for its scenery, dairy products and maple syrup (it is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States), Vermont has long been known for its liberal politics and staunchly independent political thinking. The state capital is Montpelier, while the largest city is Burlington.
Vermont is located in the New England region in the eastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles (24,902 km²), making it the 45th largest state. Of this, land comprises 9,250 square miles (23,955 km²) and water comprises 365 square miles (948 km²), making it the 43rd largest in land area and the 47th in water area.
The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern border of the state with New Hampshire (the river itself is part of New Hampshire). Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York and Quebec (Canada) in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles (256 km). Its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles (143 km) at the Canadian border; the narrowest width is 37 miles (60 km) at the Massachusetts line. The state's geographic center is Washington, three miles (5 km) east of Roxbury.
The origin of the name Green Mountains (French: Verts monts) is uncertain. Some authorities say that they are so named because they have much more forestation than the higher White Mountains of New Hampshire and Adirondacks of New York. Other authorities say that they are so named because of the predominance of mica-quartz-chlorite schist, a green hued metamorphosed shale. The range forms a north-south spine running most of the length of the state, slightly west of its center. In the southwest portion of the state are the Taconic Mountains; the Granitic Mountains are in the northeast. In the northwest near Lake Champlain is the fertile Champlain Valley. In the south of the valley is Lake Bomoseen. Vermont has 14 counties. Four border Québec in Canada to the north, and two border Massachusetts in the south. In the west is New York and in the east is New Hampshire, each bordered by five counties. Only two of Vermont's counties—Lamoille and Washington—are entirely surrounded by Vermont territory.
Several mountains have timberlines: Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in the state and Killington are two examples. About 77% of the state is covered by forest; the rest is covered in meadow, uplands, lakes, ponds and swampy wetlands.
Areas in Vermont serviced by the National Park Service include the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock.
Vermont is known for its mud season in spring followed by a cool summer and a colorful autumn, and particularly for its cold winters. The northern part of the state, including the rural northeastern section (dubbed the "Northeast Kingdom") is known for exceptionally cold winters, often averaging 10 F° (6 C°) colder than the southern areas of the state. Annual snowfall averages between 60 to 100 inches (150–250 cm) depending on elevation, giving Vermont some of New England's best cross-country and downhill ski areas.
In the autumn, Vermont's hills experience an explosion of red, orange and gold foliage displayed on the sugar maple as cold weather approaches. This famous display of color that occurs so abundantly in Vermont is not due so much to the presence of a particular variant of the sugar maple; rather it is caused by a number of soil and climate conditions unique to the area.
The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C), at Vernon on July 4, 1911; the lowest recorded temperature was -50 °F (-46 °C), at Bloomfield on December 30, 1933.
France claimed Vermont as part of New France, and erected Fort Sainte Anne on Isle La Motte in 1666 as part of the fortification of Lake Champlain. This was the first European settlement in Vermont and the site of the first Roman Catholic Mass.
On January 18, 1777, representatives of the New Hampshire Grants convened in Westminster and declared the independence of the Vermont Republic. For the first six months of the republic's existence, the republic was called New Connecticut.
During the American Civil War Vermont sent over 32,000 men into the service of the Union Army, of which some one out of six did not return, a higher proportion of men sent and lost than any other state. The most famous Vermont unit was the hard-fighting First Vermont Brigade. The northernmost land action of the war took place in Vermont on October 19, 1864, in what is known as the St. Albans Raid.
The first election in which women were allowed to vote was on December 18, 1880, when women were granted limited suffrage and were allowed to vote in school board elections.
Large-scale flooding occurred in early November 1927. During this incident, 85 people died, 84 of them in Vermont. Another flood occurred in 1973, when the flood caused the death of two people and millions of dollars in property damage.
Vermont's main mode of travel is by automobile. Individual communities and counties have public transit, but their breadth of coverage is frequently limited. Greyhound Lines services a number of small towns and Amtrak serves stations in Rutland and Fair Haven (off the Ethan Allen Express) and St. Albans, Essex Jct., Waterbury, Montpelier, Randolph, White River Jct., Windsor, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro on the Vermonter line.
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Interstates I-89, I-91 and I-93 pass through Vermont.
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