Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by New York to the west; Canada to the north; New Hampshire to the east; and Massachusetts to the south.
- ABBREVIATION: VT
- NICKNAME: The Green Mountain State
- POPULATION: 626,630 (2013 est.)
- CAPITAL: Montpelier
- STATE BIRD: Hermit Thrush
- STATE FLOWER: Red Clover
- AREA: 9,620 sq. mi.
- TIME ZONE: Eastern
- ENTERED UNION: Mar. 4, 1791
- ALTITUDE: High, 4,395 ft. Mount Mansfield
- CLIMATE: Long cold winters with heavy snows; short mild summers. Moderate rainfall.
“The Vermont mountains stretch extending straight”, the poet Robert Frost has written. The rounded, rocky mass of the state’s Green Mountains seems poised to slide off into the Champlain Lowland to the west and the valley of the Connecticut to the east. Vermont has never been more than thinly populated. It is a vacationer’s delight: trout, bass, pickerel, and landlocked salmon flourish in more than 400 glacial lakes and ponds; rabbit and deer abound in the fir, maple, and birch forests; the snow-covered mountains offer superb ski slopes for the the winter months.
The Vermonters make modest livings from dairying and other agricultural pursuits. Almost 3/4 of Vermont’s agricultural production is dairy. About 10% of the labor force is engaged in manufacturing: machinery, electrical equipment lumber, and furniture, unfortunately, it was once 25% of the labor force. Vermont had a third fewer manufacturing jobs in 2010 than in 2000 and continues this downward trend today. However, Vermont does have its strengths; Vermont makes more maple syrup than anyone, more than a million gallons per year; Vermont also has some of the largest granite quarries in the world. Vermont is well known for it’s Mable quarries as well, located inside Dorset Mountain, the Danby Quarry is the largest underground marble quarry in the world. Vermont has provided Marble for the Supreme Court Building in Washington D.C., the Secretariat of the United States, and dozens of other major buildings throughout the United States.
Vermont is the sixth smallest in area and the second least populous of the 50 United States. Driving through Vermont you’ll notice something different from the rest of the nation, there are no billboards, they were banned in 1968 with few exceptions. Tourism is an important industry to the state. Some of the largest ski areas in New England are located in Vermont.
FUN FACTS:
- From 1777 until it became a state in 1791, Vermont had its own postal and monetary systems.
- Morgan horses, an American breed known for its stamina, vigor, and all-purpose usefulness, have been raised on farms throughout Vermont since just after the Revolution. The First Vermont Cavalry rode Morgans in the Civil War, and Confederate General Stonewall Jackson’s horse ‘Little Sorrel’ was a Morgan.
- Built by the Green Mountain Club between 1910 and 1930, the Long Trail is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States. The 273-mile footpath and 175 miles of side trails run along the ridges of the Green Mountain for the entire length of the state.
- Vermont farmers occasionally feed their hogs waste from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Company. The hogs inhale all the flavors except Mint Oreo.
- Vermont has never been heavily populated. Today (2015 est.), only Wyoming has fewer residents.
- The smallest state capital in the U.S. is Montpelier, Vermont with a population of less than 9,000.