New Jersey is a part of the United States of America. It is a shoreline state on the mid-atlantic coast of the U. S. New York State borders it to the north, with Delaware and Pennsylvania to the southwest. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean.http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/nj_geography.htm New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies. It became a state on December 18, 1787.http://www.50states.com/statehood.htm

New Jersey is the fourth smallest state measuring around 150 miles long and 70 miles wide. The state contains four land regions which include the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, New England Upland and the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region. The state has natural areas such as pine forest, salt marshes, lagoons, meadows, rivers, flat-topped rock ridges, mountains, valleys, shale and limestone formations.http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/nj_geography.htm

Some of the major attractions in New Jersey include Meadowlands Stadium and Atlantic City. New Jersey approved casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1978. The seaside resort had been declining in popularity up until that point. Donald Trump contributed to the casino's in the area, returning the area into a popular vacation spot.http://www.atlantic-city-online.com/history/history.shtml

Small settlements were first made by the Dutch on the bank of the Hudson however, it was when the English came that there was real growth in the colonies. New Jersey was part of a grant given to James, the Duke of York, in 1664. James, in turn, gave a province to both Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. These began to colonize the land. By 1760, most of the 75,000 residents in New Jersey were English. Most of the residents were farmers and the towns were rather small. The Europeans for the most part lived peacefully with the Native Americans, trading furs and game with them.http://www.usahistory.info/colonies/New-Jersey.html

New Jersey produces apple, blueberries, cranberries, peaches and strawberries. Of these five major fruit crops, blueberries an cranberries are the most produced crops with New Jersey ranking 2nd in the nation for their blueberry crop and 3rd in the nation for their cranberry crop. Other leading crops are potatoes, tomatoes, corn hay and soybeans. The commercial fishing industry adds bluefish, tilefish, flounder, hake, shellfish and other fish species to the agricultural list. New Jersey is also a leading milk producer with the counties of Warren, Salem, Sussex, Burlington and Gloucester taking the lead in its production.http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/newjersey.pdf

On the evening of Monday, February 2, 2009, a 3.0-magnitude earthquake struck central New Jersey. While the quake was considered relatively minor, authorities in the area reported many panicked calls from residents, wondering if the shaking they felt was the result of an explosion.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4446140/New-Jersey-earthquake-sparks-panic.html

According to seismologists, earthquakes in New Jersey are not uncommon, though they are typically of the minor variety. The U.S. Geological Survey says the strongest earthquake to hit New Jersey was a 5.3-magnitude quake on November 30, 1783.http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1783_11_30.php