Located in the North Eastern United States, New York State is the third most populated state. It is also home to the largest city in the U.S., New York City. Also known as "The City That Never Sleeps", New York City is the not only the largest U.S. city, but also the most visited city in the U.S. New York state is home to several other big cities, including Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, and New York City.

New York state borders the states of Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut on the east. To the southeast is the Atlantic Ocean. The south of the state borders Pennsylvania and New Jersey while on the west are Lake Erie, Niagara Falls and Lake Ontario. On the north and northwest are Canada.http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/newyork/

New York state originally was claimed by Henry Hudson in 1609. New York was a colony of Great Britain for more then one hundred years. It declared its independence from Britain on July 9, 1776 and became on of the original thirteen colonies. During the War for Independence, also called the Revolutionary War, over one third of the skirmishes and engagements were fought on the soil of New York state.

New York became the 11th state of the United States on July 26, 1788. Its first governor, George Clinton was inaugurated on July 30, 1777.http://www.iloveny.com/kids/history_pre_1900.asp

New York state grows fruit crops such as apples and grapes. Their vegetable market ranks the 6th overall in the United States. Some of their leading vegetable crops are cabbage, sweet corn and onions. Field crops are grown to support the state's dairy industry. Corn, oats and wheat are grown with corn being the most prolific. New York state has a large dairy industry and ranks third in the U.S. It also ranks high in the production of ducks with over 200 thousand ducks.http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/newyork.PDF