Native Americans arrived in the area now called New York about 5,000 years ago. Thousands of years later, their descendants were Indian tribes such as the Iroquois, Cayugas, Oneida, and Seneca. In 1624, the Dutch established a colony on Manhattan Island, now called New Amsterdam. It was renamed New York after the British took control of the area in 1664. But after the American Revolution in 1776, New York became an American colony and then a state in 1788. A year later, George Washington was sworn in as the United States’ first president in New York, then the nation’s capital. (He would have moved to Washington, D.C. the next year, in 1790.)
New York was named after the British Duke of York. Many experts believe that it was nicknamed the “Imperial State” because George Washington called New York “the seat of the Empire.”
Geography of New York
According to itypetravel.com, New York borders Canada and Lake Ontario to the north; Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean in the south; Lake Erie to the west; and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The Saint Lawrence-Champlain Lowlands runs along the edge of the Adirondacks and the Canadian border. In this hilly area, you can see Lake Champlain and the Thousand Islands, a collection of small islands that lie between New York and Canada. In the Adirondack Highlands, famous for the Appalachian mountains and forests, waterfalls and lakes, is the highest peak in New York – Mount Marcy. The Hudson-Iroquois Lowlands contain much of the Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, while the Allegheny Plateau, stretching from Lake Erie along the Pennsylvania border, includes 11 Finger Lakes and the wooded Catskill Mountains. The Erie-Ontario Lowlands is a plain dotted with oval mounds called drums. It reaches the shores of two Great Lakes: Erie and Ontario. The Atlantic Coastal Plain extends towards the ocean. It includes the sandy beaches and bays of Staten Island and Long Island.
Wildlife of New York
New York City is home to large mammals such as black bears, bobcats and elks, as well as small mammals such as weasels, raccoons and skunks. Golden eagles, peregrine falcons and wild turkeys are common birds, as are blue jays, cardinals and woodpeckers. Reptiles include snapping turtles, diamond terrapins and king snakes. Also look out for amphibians like the eastern hell bend, the 30″ long salamander. You will most likely see oaks, pines, and sugar maples, the state tree. Flowers like azaleas, rhododendro.
NEW YORK City
Population: 8 363.710 thousand people (2009)
Area: 789.4 sq. km
New York is one of the largest metropolitan areas not only in the United States, but throughout the world. Founded by immigrants, with a population of just over twenty million, New York is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. New York is divided into five boroughs: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan. Currently, New York is the world’s most important financial, political, cultural and economic center. See New York cities.
The city was originally called New Amsterdam, as it was founded by colonists from Holland in the 17th century. The British later take over the city and rename it New York.
New York is a city of skyscrapers. And this is clearly demonstrated by one of the symbols of the city – the Empire State Building, which, after the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center – the Twin Towers, again became the tallest building in New York. The view from its observation deck is breathtaking, especially in the evening, when the brightly lit streets of the city look like the Milky Way.
The Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous American symbol. Made in France and given as a gift for the centenary of US independence, it represents American democracy and the pursuit of freedom. Every year, more than five million tourists come to Liberty Island to see this east-facing statue and climb to the observation deck in its crown.
Times Square is the main street and heart of Manhattan. Here, New Yorkers celebrate New Year’s Eve, hold concerts and holiday parades. Built up with skyscrapers, Times Square is especially beautiful in the evening, illuminated by the lights of numerous advertisements and neon signs. The buildings of giant corporations, television studios, restaurants, shops and cinemas are concentrated on it. There is also a living attraction in Times Square – a naked cowboy with a guitar. For more than a decade, he has been walking around the square, playing songs on his guitar and taking pictures with tourists.
The Brooklyn Bridge is an elegant structure that connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, attracting attention with its steel cables radiating from the pylons. The best time to walk across the bridge is early in the morning, when the city is shrouded in pre-dawn haze and offers a magnificent view.
Central Park is a corner of calm in a noisy and always in a hurry New York. Larger than the kingdom of Monaco, this is an oasis where you can just walk, have a picnic on the lawn or go boating on the lake.
One of the main attractions of Central Park is the bronze statue of Alice, surrounded by characters from the immortal work of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. In addition, the New York Zoo is located in the park.
Union Square is a square located near the University of New York with a cozy square, through which restless squirrels rush in large numbers. On it are the famous monuments to Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi.
And connoisseurs and lovers of fine art will undoubtedly be attracted by the Museum of Modern Art. It is not for nothing that it is considered one of the best museums in the world; its collection contains such masterpieces as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, Picasso’s “Avignon Maidens” and Monet’s “Water Lilies”. The building of the museum has been repeatedly transformed and rebuilt. As a result, at present, the museum is a six-story building of glass and metal, in which galleries and exhibitions are scattered without any sequence.
New York is a huge city, in the cauldron of which many cultures are mixed, striking tourists with the length of its streets and the height of skyscrapers. Once you have been to New York, you will never be able to remove its image from your heart.
