9781422286180

C onnecticut, one of the 13 original colonies, got its name from the Algonquian word quinnehtukqut , which means “beside the long tidal river.” English settlers kept this name but spelled it Connecticut. They used the name for both their colony and the Connecticut River, the most important river in New England. The Connecticut River flows across the middle of the state from north to south and empties into Long Island Sound. Geography Connecticut is the third-smallest state in the nation, covering only 5,543 square miles (14,356 sq km). It is bordered on the north by Massachusetts, on the west by New York, on the east by Rhode Island, and on the south by the waters of Long Island Sound. Connecticut can be divided into five geographic regions: Coastal Lowland, Eastern New England Upland, Connecticut Valley Lowland, Western New England Upland, and the Taconic Mountains. The Coastal Lowland is a narrow strip of land that runs for 253 miles (407 km) along the Long Island Sound. Its main fea- tures are beaches and harbors. Connecticut

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