This article was accepted into the corpus but its outbound wikilinks were never NER-processed — typical at the deepest BFS hop or when the run's entity cap was reached. No expansion funnel to show.
| Regions of New England | |
|---|---|
| Name | New England regions |
| Caption | Map showing principal New England regions |
| Area km2 | 71834 |
| Population | 14800000 |
| Subdivisions | Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut |
Regions of New England
New England comprises multiple overlapping regional concepts that reflect the histories of Plymouth Colony, Province of Massachusetts Bay, Province of New Hampshire, Province of Maine, Province of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and Province of Connecticut. Contemporary regional identities intersect with boundaries tied to Boston, Portland (Maine), Manchester (New Hampshire), Burlington (Vermont), Hartford (Connecticut), and Providence (Rhode Island) as urban anchors. The region’s divisions derive from colonial charters such as the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company and events like the King Philip's War and the American Revolutionary War.
New England is traditionally defined by the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and by major subregional labels like New England New York? (note: avoid linking ambiguous labels). Coastal corridors include the Merrimack River valley, the Connecticut River valley, and the Kennebec River basin, while highland areas include the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, and the Berkshire Mountains. Urban networks center on metropolitan areas such as Greater Boston, Greater Hartford, Providence metropolitan area, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Worcester, Massachusetts. Regional planning organizations like the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, and historic bodies such as the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers conference, reflect inter-state collaboration.
Colonial-era divisions include Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Province of New Hampshire, Province of Maine, Province of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and Connecticut Colony; later cultural regions crystallized around events like the Salem witch trials, the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Literary and artistic regions evoke Concord, Massachusetts with figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott; the Harvard University corridor and Yale University corridor shaped intellectual geography. Industrial-era cultural regions formed around mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, tied to investors like Francis Cabot Lowell and financiers connected to the Boston Associates. Ethnic enclaves include Irish neighborhoods in South Boston, Portuguese communities in New Bedford, Massachusetts, French-Canadian populations in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Cape Verdean groups in Providence, Rhode Island.
State governments of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut set administrative layers that include counties such as Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, New Haven County, Connecticut, and Providence County, Rhode Island. Municipal networks emphasize cities like Boston, Portland (Maine), Burlington (Vermont), Hartford (Connecticut), and Providence (Rhode Island); regional commissions include bodies like the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Nashua Regional Planning Commission. Federal judicial divisions include the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, while congressional delegations meet in United States Congress sessions representing districts from Maine's 1st congressional district to Connecticut's 5th congressional district.
Economic regions reflect historic transitions from textile mill hubs in Lowell, Massachusetts and Fall River, Massachusetts to high-tech clusters in Route 128 and the Boston-Cambridge innovation corridor around Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Maritime economies center on ports such as Port of Boston, Port of Portland (Maine), New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Providence Harbor; fisheries are tied to grounds like the Georges Bank and institutions including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Agricultural areas include the Connecticut River Valley, dairy farms in Vermont, and apple orchards in New Hampshire. Demographically, urban cores show concentrations reflected in the United States Census Bureau metropolitan statistical areas of Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, Providence-Warwick, RI-MA, Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT, and Manchester-Nashua, NH. Economic policy discussions reference actors such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and development agencies like MassDevelopment.
Physiographic units include the New England Province (physiographic) with subregions: the Atlantic Coastal Plain fringe, the Appalachian Highlands including the White Mountains, Green Mountains, and Berkshire Mountains, and valley systems like the Connecticut River Valley and the Merrimack River watershed. Geological history links to formations mapped by the United States Geological Survey and to events such as the Last Glacial Period that shaped glacial deposits in Cape Cod and the Boston Basin. Coastal features include the Gulf of Maine, the Nantucket Shoals, Cape Cod National Seashore, and barrier islands like Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Inland lacustrine zones include Lake Champlain and reservoirs such as Quabbin Reservoir.
Tourist regions promote attractions like Freedom Trail in Boston, Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine, Burlington Waterfront on Lake Champlain, The Berkshires with venues such as Tanglewood and Jacob's Pillow, and coastal destinations like Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Ski regions include Killington Ski Resort, Mount Snow, and Loon Mountain, while scenic byways include the Kancamagus Highway and the Mohawk Trail. Cultural tourism flows through museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the New England Aquarium, and historic sites like Plimoth Plantation and Old Sturbridge Village.
Transportation corridors include the Interstate 95 coastal corridor, Interstate 89 linking Burlington (Vermont) to Concord (New Hampshire), Interstate 91 along the Connecticut River, and Interstate 93 connecting Boston to the White Mountains. Rail networks feature MBTA services, Amtrak's Northeast Regional, and the Vermont Rail System; airports include Logan International Airport, T.F. Green Airport, Bradley International Airport, and Portland International Jetport. Maritime infrastructure centers on facilities like the Port of Boston and the South Portland Shipyard, while energy networks reference projects such as the Maine Power Reliability Program and transmission operated by ISO New England.
Category:Geography of New England