The Homeschool Mom of 2

Skye did this page as a school project. If you notice any errors, please e-mail her at thehsmomof2@aol.com.

Thank you.

The state capitals are:

New York : The state of New York was founded on July 26th, 1788. It became the 11th state to join the union. Syracuse, a town found around the middle of New York, is the snoweist U.S city outside of Alaska. The largest rivers in the state are the  St. Lawrence, Hudson, Mohawk, Genesse, Susquehanna, Allegheny, and Delaware rivers.  The state bird is the bluebird. The state flower is the rose, and the state motto is ' Ever upward'.

Connecticut : Connecticut has two of the worlds largest casinos. Which are Foxwoods and The Muhegan Sun. The dutch were the first to seattle in Connecticut. The first dutch europeans that is. The most commonly seen wild animals in this state include raccoon, red fox, coyote, white - tailed deer and the wood chuck. Connecticut was the 5th state to be founded, which was in January 9th, 1788. Forest cover 60% of this state. The state motto is ' He who transplanted sustains.'

Maine :  Maine is known for their lobsters. In 1995, Maine caught one hundred eighty million dollars worth of lobster. Maine has one of the largest wild life populations in the eastern United States. Some of the biggest animals includes black bears. The rivers and lakes of Maine have a number of different fish, like, trout, clams, salmon etc..The state bird is the Chickadee. The state fish is land locked salmon, and the state flower is the white pinecone and the tassel.

New Hampshire :  New Hampshire is one of the smallest U.S states. One thing that not to many people know about the state, is that it's one of the original 13 colonies. New Hampshire is only 24,043 square feet, including around 813 square feet of inland waters. In New Hampshire are some of the largest mountains, countless lakes, and large areas of woodlands. The state bird is the Purple Finch. The state flower is the purple lilac. The state tree is the white birch and the state fish is the brook trout and striped bass.

Vermont : Vermont is a small town state that has short, cool summers, and long, cold winters. In 2000, Vermont had 41 newspapers. Including 9 dailies. The first newspaper to be printed in Vermont was the Vermont Gazette. Vermont has 100 covered bridges, most that were built before the year of 1912.  In the year of 1969, the first 300 miles of interstate highway opened in the state. Over 35,000 people that had lived in the state of Vermont fought for the union and against slavery in the civil war. 

Massachusetts :  Somewhere in the state is a lake called Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamuagg. It means ' You fish on your side, I fish on my side, no one fishes in the middle'. It's a native american name. President, John Adams' wife, Abigail Smith Adams' was born in Massachusetts in 1744. Sports are a big thing in Massachusetts. In 1891 and in 1895, Basketball and volleyball were invented in this state. Massachusetts was founded february of 1788. It was the sixth state to join the union.

Florida :  Nearly seventy million tourist a year, visit the state to enjoy it's tropical climate. The sunshine also attracts people. Florida is the flattest state. Florida leads all other states in the pruduction of citrus fruits. Each year, the state accounts for 2/3 of the total U.S citrus crops. It  ranks first in the nation in the production of oranges and grapefruits. Other citrus fruits include limes, tangerines and tangelos.

Minnesota :  Minnesota calls it self ' The land of ten thousand lakes'. Even though the state has over fifty thousand lakes. Most of which were left behind from the midwest glaciers from after the last ice age. More then half of the people that live in Minnesota, live along the Mississippi river, at the head of Niagara Falls. Canoeing is popular in Minnesota. Especially along the upper Mississippi river. Minnesota had run out of names for there lakes and rivers. There is 201 mud lakes and 154 long lakes.

Idaho :  Idaho is bordered by six different states. Including Organ, Washington, Montana, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and also Canada. The population of this state is 1,321,000 people. Idaho has eighteen million acres of wildlife. Thats more then any other state, except for Alaska. In Idaho's wilderness you can find may animals, But mostly Bear and deer. The state bird is the mountain bluebird. The state tree is western white pine. The state flower is the syringa, and the state motto is ' let it be perpetual'.

Wyoming : Oil is the most valuable mineral in Wyoming, which produces about ninety million barrels of crude every year. Cheyenne, the states capital, began hosting it's annual frontier days celebration in the year of 1897. Ranching and farming activities generate $900 million, in one year in Wyoming. The federal government still owns a lot of the land in the western part of the state. Today, more then one million cowboys & cowgirls still take part in roping, riding, and steer-wrestling competitions.

Arkansas :  Little Rock is the states capital. In Arkansas, people live so far apart that there is no Main street. Pine forests cover a lot of the states low lands, but near the Mississippi river, the land was cleared, to allow farm land. The state Arkansas was names for general Thomas A . Smith, commander of the military district, that included parts of Arkansas. Arkansas entered the union in 1836, as the 25th U.S state. Arkansas produces 2/5 of all rice grown in the united states.

California :  Richard Nixon, the 37th president, was born in Yorba Linda, California. Richard was born in January 1913. He married Thelma Catherine Ryan,and they had two children, Julie and Patricia. Richard died April 22, 1994. He was 81 years old. California was named by spanish explorers, after a fictional island paradise. The population of the state is 33,145,121, and the states nickname is Golden State.

Iowa :  Archaeologists believe that the first people to live in Iowa, was 12,000 years ago. They were people who hunted large game. The large game included Musk Ox, and wooly mammoth. The population grew rapidly after just a few years after becoming a state of the union. The first constitution was adopted in 1846, when the state entered the union. Potatoes, corn, and wheat crops were the 3 most important crops in the first few decades of state hood. The potatoes were consumed on peoples farms.

North Carolina :  North Carolina was named for king Charles, the first of England, whose name in latin means carolus. For jobs, North Carolina ranks among the top ten in industrial jobs, but wages remain low, but mostly in the tobacco industry. James Madison, the 4th president married Dorothea Payne Todd Madison, who was born May 20th, 1768, in Guilford country North Carolina. The state motto is ' to be rather then to seem'.

South Carolina :  South Carolina was once a state dependant on the cotton and slave labor. After the civil war, tobacco and greenhouse plants have taken over cotton. People that live in the state of South Carolina like to keep things simple. Like Geography. They call the flat land near the coast, the low lands. They call everything else the up land. The states coastal swamps are home to the poisonous snakes. Andrew Jackson, the 17th president, was born in Waxhaw, South Carolina, in the year 1767.

Georgia :   Georgia University can be found in Athens Georgia. It was founded in 1785, and then opened in 1801. Georgia was named after the founded of the state. James named it after King George the second. In 2000, about 252 newspapers were published, most were weeklies. Georgia has 57 libraries. The Atlanta - Fulton public library open to the public in 1902, but then it was known as the Carnegie library. It's also the states largest library.

Ohio :  Benjamin Harrison, who was once president, married Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison, who was born in Oxford Ohio. She was born on October 10th, 1832. Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford Hayes, and Ulysses S. Grant were also born in Ohio. One of the most unusual settled in Ohio, would have to be the amish , who happen to be highly religious people. The Amish are known for their rejection of modern conventions. Such as cars and electricity. They are also known for their great farming skills.

Louisiana :  The three largest cities in Louisiana are New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport. Baton Rouge has the population of 227,818. Shrevport has the population of 200,145. Louisiana's state flag has the words ' Union, Justice, and confidence' on it. Which is also the states motto. This state has 17 airports, in 2001. Most of them were only small private airports though.

Indiana :  When white settlers first came to the state of Indiana, during the early nineteenth century, 80% of the state was covered with lots of trees. But now only 16% of the land was covered with trees. The town Gary, is 84% blacks, only because nearly all blacks live there. Only few live outside of Gary Indiana. Oscar Charleston,once a pro baseball player and manager, was a prominent figure in African American baseball player for 40 years. Oscar was born in Indianapolis Indiana in 1896.

Illinois :   Whether you would like to get around by ship, air or car, Illinois has some of the greatest transportation. Chicago Illinois has the most important railroad and tracking center in all the U S. During the ice age, glaciers covered almost all of Illinois. These huge masses of ice flattened the state. It grinded down hills and left behind a huge layer of mineral - rich soil.

Mississippi :  The Mississippi river is the most important geographic feature in the state. The rivers is quite narrow in the south, but widens in the north. Mississippi ranks 32nd among the U.S states in size, with a total area of 125,000 square feet. The state was early explored by the spanish and colonized by the french. All of the rivers in Mississippi, drain into the gulf of Mexico, either directly or by way of the Mississippi river.

Texas :  Austin Texas, the states capital, is home to the largest urban loat colony in the united state. When Texas joined the union, in 1845, congress gave it the right to divide it's self in to five or more states. But Texas stayed the way it is today, Huge. The state of Texas, has more streets and highways then any other state in the U.S. Texas grows more than five thousand kinds of wild flowers. Including paintbrush, pink evening and primrose.

Wisconsin :   Green Bay Wisconsin, is known as the toilet paper capital of the world. Because so many of it's paper mills make bathroom tissue. Wisconsin calls its self , American's dairy - land. Its 1.3 million dairy cows are the most of any other state. Nearly 90 % of the states milk goes to cheese making. The capital of Texas in Madison.

Kansas :  The wheat fields in Kansas produce annual 20% of the annual U.S harvest. Farmers that raise beef cattle, in the state, get more money, about twice as much as any other state. The first newspaper that was published in Kansas, was published in Shawnee language. Kansas was founded in January 1861, and was the 34th state to join the union.

Virginia :  Virginia was named by founded sir walter Raleigh for Elizabeth the first, the virgin queen of England. George Washington, James Madison, James Monrow and Woodrow Wilson  were all born in the state of Virginia. The state had mountains in the east side, and has marshlands to the east side.

West Virginia : In West Virginia, there is almost no level grounds. This makes it hard for farmers to do their farming. All of West Virginia lies within the appalachian mountains. The states highest point is spruce knob. One of the cities in West Virginia, Weirton stretches across the entire state of West Virginia.

Alaska :  Alaska can be a hard place to live. Because of all of the cold weather. Alaskan's have to dress very warmly. Even during the summer time. Alaska is the largest in size. Alaska can reach from Georgia to Los Angeles, and reach as far as the north boarder of Canada. Thats pretty big. The state has 8 national parks. Including glaciers Bay.

Rhode Island :    Providence, the state capital, can be found North West of Rhode Island. In Providence, is where you can find factories. Factories in providence, began making costume jewelry in 1794. The jewelry was designed to be trendy and disposable, yet affordable. Instead of traveling, people like to stay at home, because they are proud of where they live.

Delaware :   Dover is the states capital. The state tree is the Maerican Holly and the state flower is the peach blossom. In 2000, Delaware had up to 37 public tax -supported libraries. The oldest library in the state is the Wilmington Institute library. Which dates back to the 18th century. The copperhead snake lives in Delaware, and is poisonous. 

***To see a list of all of the poisonous snakes in the US, and which state they are in, visit http://www.geo-outdoors.info/listed_by_state.htm

Maryland :   The famous baseball player, Babe Ruth, lived in Maryland. And was born there too. He was born in 1895 and died in 1948. His 22 yeas major league career, he scored 2,174 times, he was walked 2,212 times, and he dove in2,213 runs. In Maryland, pollution and over fishing have dramatically reduced the oyster and striped bass population.

New Jersey :   New jersey is known as the garden state for its many, many truck farming. New jersey is the 5th smallest state in the united states. New Jersey is in the middle Atlantic region of the U.S. The largest church membership in the state is Roman catholic, representing over 1/2 of the state churchgoers. The other large religious groups include the baptist, the methodists and also the jews.

Pennsylvania :  In Pennsylvania, there are more then one million licensed hunters of all ages. The two most popular past times in the state, are, hunting ( for mostly deer ) and also high school football. During hunting season, the streets look empty in Pennsylvania because everyone is in the woods, hunting. The first hospital in the United States was in Pennsylvania. It was located in the town Philadelphia, which was chartered in the year 1751, with help from Benjamin Franklin.

Washington D.C. :  Every year, nearly twenty - million people visit Washington D.C. to visit the White house. One in ten resident's are lawyers. Half of the people that live here work for Uncle sam. Washington D.C is home to many famous people, and also interesting public buildings and monuments. Many of which are involved with the federal government. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led people from Washington monument to Lincoln memorial. Thats where he stood in front of hundreds of people, and gave his speech.

Nevada :   Nevada's the nations fastest growing state. since 1980, it's population has doubled. Nearly all those people have came from near by. Especially the suburbs of Las Vegas. Nevada's capital is Carson city, which is located west of the state.

Alabama : Very few large animals live in the state of Alabama. Black bears can normally be found in swampy area's in the south west. Alligators, the largest reptile in the state, are found in the southern swamp areas. Frogs are the most common amphibians in Alabama. Alabama has a strong tradition for collage football. The state is home to most of the intense football games, in the U.S that is. In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for disobeying a law in Montgomery Alabama.

Kentucky :    More then other states, Kentucky is poor, rich, beautiful, and ugly. The first Kentucky's first school was opened in 1775, in Harrisburg. The schools teacher was Mrs. William Coomes. Kentucky's nickname is Bluegrass state, because of the blueish blossoms that the green grass produces each may.

Oklahoma : The state of Oklahoma, averages 50 tornadoes in one year. Mostly in April and in May. Farmers by humid red river valley grow cotton, penates, and other crops. Oklahoma is the 46th state to join the union, and has 3,406,097 people living in this state. In the state you will see lots of wells.18  wells once pumped oil from the grounds of the state capital.

New Mexico :    New Mexico's famous mountains, popcatepeth and  Izteccihault can be seen from a mile away. They both are very tall mountains. Popcatepeth is one of america's highest peaks. There are 22 major native american reseravations like, Zia, Zuni and also Languna. Most people in New Mexico, depend on farming, mining, and ranching for their money.

Hawaii :  Despite the tropical climate, snow falls on the state tallest mountains. Among the young people in Hawaii, the 'Shaka' sign is a universal greeting. Your thumb and a pinkie fingers up, and thats how you do it. it means peace, hello, and good vibes. 'Shaka Brah' is a phrase they often use. 'Brah' is pidgim englash for ' brother'. The year that Hawaii became a state was 1959.

Montana :  People of Montana love the outside. The yellow stone river offers some of the best fly - fishing in the world. Montana was founded on Nov. 8th, in 1889. This state has the 44th biggest population in the United states of america. The population is 904,433. The highest point is 12,799 feet tall , and the lowest would have to be 1,800 feet tall.

Arizona :  Arizona's first entered the union on february 14th in 1912. A shallow prehistorical sea once covered what is now Arizona's grand canyon. Roman catholic's for the largest religious group in the state. The state tree is the Palavered. The state bird is the Cactus Wren, and the state motto is ' God Enriches'.

Colorado :   Colorado was names from spanish word colorado, meaning ' colored red'. Now that people can ' make' snow, ski season starts much earlier. It starts as early as october. It continues for eight months. In the winter rime, over twelve million people visit the state to go skiing, on really snow. Colorado also has ski resorts. Colorado springs is home to the air force academy.

North Dakota :  North Dakota has very few forest lands. About 1% in fact. In 1960, they could grow enough food to only feed 26 people for a year. North Dakota has only one national park. It is Theodore Roosevelt National park.

South Dakota :  The native american's that live in South Dakota, are mostly Sioux. They make up about 8.3 % of South Dakotas population. The state seems to live by two easy rules: 1) Where the soil is fertile, you plant crops. 2) Where the grass grows high, you raise live stock. South Dakota has more free roaming buffalo, then any other state. There is approximately thirty thousand buffalo's roaming the state.

Oregon :   Oregon, was possibly names from the french word, Duragon, meaning ' hurricane'. There is only one native american reservation area in the state of Oregon. It's called 'Warm Spring Reservation'. It is located in the north of the state. A community based environmental group got people interested in reducing auto pollution. So, companies would leave free bikes around town for people to have. That was all in 1994.

 Washington :  Washington has five national parks and refuges. Including mount Rainier national park, and North cascades national park. The San Juan islands in Pugent Sound increase from 428 to 743 islands between high and low tides. Washington was named after the first president of the united states of america. George Washington. George Washington was born february 22,1732, in Pope's creek Virginia. He dies december 14, 1799. George was the first president to appear on a postage stamp.

Michigan :  Michigan produces about 75 % of the unions sour pie cherries. Traverse city, is a great place to grow these cherries. Mainly because of the weather there. Michigan is known as the great lakes state, because it's bordered by four of the five great lakes. Lake Huron, lake superior, lake Michigan, and lake Erie.

Nebraska :    The interstate 80, follows the same route taken by the Oregon trail, and remains the busiest east-west highway in the nation. Nebraska was founded on March 1st, in 1876. It was the 37th state to join the union. The university of Nebraska's football team, nicknamed ti corn huskers, has sold out every game since november 3rd, 1962.

Missouri :  The town of Washington, is the worlds leading manufactured of corncob pipes. The 630 foot-tall gate way arch in the state celebrates St. Louises' role as the primary 19th century transportation link between the east and also the west. In the state, there are six national forest located around. Missouri is probably the most diverse state in the midwest. The land north of the state is where they grown most of their corn.