Higher Education  

The State University of New York (SUNY) system includes more than seventy units, including the state universities at Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook. New York has around 220 private universities and colleges, including Columbia University, Barnard College, Fordham University, Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan College, New York University, Pace University, Pratt Institute, St. John's University, and Sarah Lawrence College, all in New York City; Colgate University, in Hamilton; Cornell University, in Ithaca; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy; Rochester University, in Rochester; Skidmore College, in Saratoga Springs; Syracuse University, in Syracuse; and Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie. In addition, there are around forty two-year and community colleges. The United States Military Academy is located at West Point, and the United States Coast Guard Academy is at Kings Point.

Geography

The state of New York covers 127, 189 square kilometers in area. New York can be divided into seven major regions: the St. Lawrence Lowland, the Adirondack Upland, the Great Lakes Lowland, the Hudson-Mohawk Lowland, the New England Upland, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the Appalachian Plateau. In the northern part of the state, the St. Lawrence Lowland stretches along the south bank of the St. Lawrence River from Alexandria Bay to the Canadian border. The Adirondack Upland, in the northeast, contains the Adirondack Mountains. In the northwest, the Great Lakes Lowland borders Lakes Erie and Ontario. The Hudson-Mohawk Lowland, in central and southeastern New York, includes the river valleys of the Hudson and the Mohawk rivers. Occupying the southern half of New York's eastern border, the New England Upland extends from Lake Champlain to Manhattan Island. At the southeastern tip of the state, the Atlantic Coastal Plain includes Staten Island, Long Island, and the coastal area. New York's largest land area is the Appalachian Plateau, which covers most of southern New York. Among the state's major rivers are the Hudson, the Mohawk, the St. Lawrence, and the Niagara. Major cities include New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse, and Albany (capital). The state's population is over 18 million.

Climate

In general, New York experiences warm summer and cold winters. The average August temperature in New York City is 23° C, while the average February temperature is 0.6° C. In the Adirondack Mountains, temperatures average 17° C in August and -10° C in February. Statewide, precipitation averages from 81 to 137 cm. Annual snowfall averages 66 cm in New York City and 310 cm in the Adirondacks.

Cultural Profile

Many of America's most famous centers for the performing arts are located in New York City, including the Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Opera House. NYC is host to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, the New York City Opera, and many other performing arts groups. Buffalo, Brooklyn, Long Island, Syracuse, Rochester, and Albany also have symphony orchestras. The theater district in New York City, including Broadway, is the site of about a thousand premieres each year. In addition, a wide variety of performances are presented each summer in New York City's parks.

New York City's museums include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of the American Indian, and the Brooklyn Museum. Other museums in the state include the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Utica Children's Museum, the Emerson Museum of Art in Syracuse, the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, and the New York State Museum in Albany.

Recreation

New York has about 150 state parks and 60 forest areas. Outdoor activities the state offers include hiking, camping, canoeing, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, golf, sailing, swimming, backpacking, cycling, and skiing. Some of the New York City's popular attractions are the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, the United Nations Headquarters, Times Square, Wall Street, and the Rockefeller Center. Other interesting places to visit in the state include the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown; Fort Ticonderoga; Battle of Saratoga National Historic Park; and Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, in Albany.

Interesting Facts

Among the fifty states, New York ranks first in wholesale trade. New York City has more bridges (around 2,100) than any other US city. Famous New Yorkers include Woody Allen (actor, director, writer, comedian), James Baldwin (author), Shirley Chisholm (first black woman to be a US representative), Grover Cleveland (twenty-second and twenty-fourth president of the US), Aaron Copland (composer), Tom Cruise (actor), Millard Fillmore (thirteenth president of the US), Jody Foster (actress), George Gershwin (composer), Joseph Heller (author), Washington Irving (author), Clare Booth Luce (politician and playwright), James Michener (author), Arthur Miller (playwright), Henry Miller (author), Eugene O'Neill (playwright), John D. Rockefeller (industrialist and philanthropist), Norman Rockwell (artist), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (thirty-second president of the US), Theodore Roosevelt (twenty-sixth president of the US), Jonas Salk (research scientist), Pete Seeger (folk-song composer and singer), Neil Simon (playwright), Sojourner Truth (social reformer), Martin Van Buren (eighth president of the US), and Walt Whitman (poet).