Across the map Back to the Home Page
We traveled across the map from Ontario down to Florida by car. Through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Click on those states on the map and find out more about them.
The State of New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario to the north. New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, which is geographically the largest city in the state and most populous in the United States, is known for its history as a gateway for immigration to the United States and its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing center. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
New York was inhabited by the Algonquin, Iroquois, and Lenape Native American groups at the time Dutch and French nationals moved into the region in the early 17th century. First claimed by Henry Hudson in 1609, the region came to have Dutch forts at Fort Orange, near the site of the present-day capital of Albany in 1614, and was colonized by the Dutch in 1624 at both Albany and Manhattan; it later fell to British annexation in 1664.
The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were roughly similar to those of the present-day state. About one third of all of the battles of the Revolutionary War took place in New York. New York became an independent state on July 9, 1776 and enacted its constitution in 1777. The state ratified the United States Constitution on July 26, 1788 to become the 11th state.
The State of Pennsylvania is located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and a water border with Canada to the north, and New Jersey to the east. The state's most populated city is Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania has been known as the Keystone State since 1802, based in part upon its central location among the original Thirteen Colonies forming the United States. It was also a keystone state economically, having both the industry common to the North, making such wares as Conestoga wagons and rifles, and the agriculture common to the South, producing feed, fiber, food, and tobacco.
Another one of Pennsylvania's nicknames is the Quaker State; in colonial times, it was known officially as the Quaker Province, in recognition of Quaker William Penn's First Frame of Government constitution for Pennsylvania that guaranteed liberty of conscience. He knew of the hostility. Quakers faced when they opposed religious ritual, taking oaths, violence, war and military service, and what they viewed as ostentatious frippery.
Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
Maryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. Historically it was part of the Chesapeake Colonies where planters cultivated tobacco as a cash crop dependent on slave labor.It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland has the highest median household income of any state at $68,080 in 2007, overtaking New Jersey in 2006.
It was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution and bears two nicknames, the Old Line State and the Free State. Its history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. Generally, rural Western Maryland resembles West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania,the Southern and Eastern Shore regions of Maryland emulate a Southern culture, while densely-populated Central Maryland—radiating outward from Baltimore and the Washington Beltway—exhibits characteristics of the Northeast.
Maryland is a life sciences hub with over 350 biotechnology firms, making it the third-largest such cluster in the nation.Institutions and agencies located throughout Maryland include the University System of Maryland, The Johns Hopkins University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Celera Genomics, Human Genome Sciences (HGS), the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), MedImmune (recently purchased by AstraZeneca), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Virginia is an American state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The state is geographically shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, home to much of the state's flora and fauna. The capital of the commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The state population is over seven million.
The roots of Virginia trace back to the founding of the Virginia Colony in 1607 by the Virginia Company of London as the first permanent New World English colony. Slavery played a significant role in Virginia's early economy and politics. Virginia became one of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and subsequently joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which the state of West Virginia separated. Although traditionally conservative and historically part of the South, modern Virginia is a politically competitive state for both major national parties.
Virginia's economy has several sectors: agriculture in areas such as the Shenandoah Valley; federal agencies in Northern Virginia, such as The Pentagon; and military bases in Hampton Roads, home to the region's main seaport. The growth of the media and technology sectors have made computer chips the state's leading export, with the industry based on the strength of Virginia's public schools and universities.College sports are followed by many across the state. Areas where the state has lagged behind include obesity prevention and environmental protection.
North Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties and its capital is Raleigh.
North Carolina was one of the original Thirteen Colonies, originally known as Carolina. Joara, a native village near present-day Morganton, was the site in 1567 of Fort San Juan, the first Spanish colonial settlement in the interior of what became the United States. A colony was later established at Roanoke Island, the first attempt by the English to found a settlement in the Americas.
On May 20, 1861, North Carolina was one of the last of the Confederate states to secede from the Union. It was readmitted on July 4, 1868. The state was the location of the first successful controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, by the Wright brothers, at Kill Devil Hills, about 6.4 miles from Kitty Hawk in 1903. Today, it is a fast-growing state with an increasingly diverse economy and population. As of July 1, 2007, the population was estimated to be 9,061,032 (a 12% increase since April 1, 2000). Recognizing eight Native American tribes, North Carolina has the largest population of Native Americans of any state east of the Mississippi River.
North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to almost 6,700 feet (2,042 m) in the mountains. The climate also ranges widely. The coastal plains are strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.
South Carolina is a state in the southern region of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was originally named in honor of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as Carolus is Latin for Charles. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union and was a founding state of the Confederate States of America. According to an estimate by the United States Census Bureau, the state's population in 2008 was 4,479,800 and ranked 24th among the U.S. states.
Georgia is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. It was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It seceded from the Union on January 21, 1861 and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state to be readmitted to the Union, on July 15, 1870. Georgia is the ninth-largest state in the nation by population, with an estimated 9,544,750 residents as of July 1, 2007.It is also the fourth fastest growing state in terms of numeric gain and ninth in terms of percent gain, adding 162,447 residents at a rate of 1.7 percent. From 2006 to 2007, Georgia had 18 counties among the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, the most of any state. Georgia is also known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South. Atlanta is the capital, and the most populous city.
Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama and by Florida in the extreme southwest; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the vast mountain system of the Appalachians. The central piedmont extends from the foothills to the fall line, where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the continental coastal plain of the southern part of the state. The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, 4,784 feet (1,458 m); the lowest point is sea level.
With an area of 59,424 square miles (153,909 km²), Georgia is ranked 24th in size among the 50 U.S. states. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River in terms of land area, although it is the fourth largest (after Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin) in total area, a term which includes expanses of water claimed as state territory.
Florida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast. Much of the land mass of the state is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico to the west and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Most of Florida has a humid subtropical climate; southern Florida has a tropical climate. Florida was named by Juan Ponce de León, who landed on the peninsula on April 2, 1513. Florida is the fourth most populous state in the U.S.
