Map of Connecticut State which lies in the New England region of the United States
| State | Connecticut |
| State Capital | Hartford |
| Largest City | Bridgeport |
| Coordinates | 41.6°N 72.7°W |
| Nickname(s) | The Constitution State (official), The Nutmeg State, The Provisions State, The Land of Steady Habits |
| Postal Abbreviation | CT |
| Area | 5,567 sq. mi (14,357 sq. km) |
| Highest Point | Mount Frissell, 2,379 ft (725 m) |
| Neighboring States | Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York |
| Number of Counties | 8 |
| Population | 3,572,665 (2018) |
| Date of Entering the Union | January 9, 1788 |
| State Anthem | “Yankee Doodle” |
| Governor | Ned Lamont (Democratic Party) |
| Lieutenant Governor | Susan Bysiewicz (Democratic Party) |
| U.S. Senators | Richard Blumenthal (Democratic Party), Chris Murphy (Democratic Party) |
| U.S. House Delegation | 5 Democrats |
| GDP (Millions of Dollars) | 2,75,727 |
| Demonym | Connecticuter, Connecticutian, Nutmegger (colloquial) |
| Time Zones | UTC-05:00 (Eastern), Summer (DST) UTC-04:00 (EDT) |
Connecticut is located in the New England region of northeast USA. It shares its border with Long Island Sound (in the Atlantic Ocean) to the south, New York to the west, Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east.
Connecticut is spread across a total area of 5,567 sq. mi (14,357 sq. km), out of which 4,842 sq. mi (12,542 sq. km) is land area and 701 sq. mi (1,816 sq. km) is water area. The water area is spread across 12.6% of the total area.
The mean elevation of the state is just 500 ft (152 m) above sea level, which is one of the ten lowest elevation states in the United States of America. The northwestern region of Connecticut has a higher elevation than other parts of the state.
The south slope of Mount Frissell in the northwest corner (along the Massachusetts border) is the highest elevation point of the state at 2,380 ft (725 m) above sea level. The sea level, especially where the state borders the Long Island Sound, is the lowest elevation point.
Some of the significant mountains in Connecticut are Bear Mountain (in Salisbury), Haystack Mountain (in Norfolk), Ragged Mountain (in Southington), Pinnacle Rock (in Plainville), Lamentation Mountain (in Meriden), Sleeping Giant (in Hamden), Chauncey Peak (in Meriden), Short Mountain (in Berlin), Hanging Hills (in Meriden), and Mount Frissell (in Salisbury).
The major rivers in the state are Connecticut River, Housatonic River, Quinebaug River, Farmington River, Quinnipiac River, Scantic River, Naugatuck River, Pawcatuck River, Shepaug River, Still River, etc. Lake Candlewood is a significant lake in Connecticut.
The upland (having the highest elevation) is mainly located in the northwest part (especially in the Berkshires) and the terrain loses elevation as you move to the south, finally meeting the Long Island Sound (where the elevation is 0 ft (0 m) above sea level. Hilly upland is found in the eastern part of the state, and the rivers such as the Connecticut River and Thames River drain this hilly region.
There are five distinct landforms in Connecticut: Coastal Lowlands, Eastern New England Upland, Connecticut Valley Lowland, Western New England Upland, and Taconic Region.
The Taconic region is found in the state’s northwestern corner, especially between the New York border and the Housatonic River. The highest elevation point (Mt. Frissell) is located in this region. The Western New England Upland in the western part of the state consists of many landforms including steep hills, rivers, and ridges. The elevation in this area slopes downwards as you move from northwest to southeast (from 1,400 ft or 427 m to 1,000 ft or 305 m).
The Connecticut Valley Lowland is around 30 miles (48 km) wide on-an-average, and the characteristic features include small rivers as well as basalt ridges. This region is located mainly in the central region of the state.
The Eastern New England Upland region is found in western Connecticut, having characteristic features such as narrow river valleys as well as low hills. As you move from northwest to northeast, the land slopes downwards. The area of land in the Connecticut-Maine region remains heavily forested.
The Coastal Lowlands are mainly found in the Connecticut Coastal Lowlands as well as New England Coast. It also runs along the southern shore at Long Island Sound. This region’s elevation is lower than most other parts of the state. The significant landforms here are beaches/harbors and lower ridges.
The climate in Connecticut is temperate, characterized by warm summers and mild winters. The average temperature during January revolves around 27 °F (-3 °C). During July, the average temperature revolves around 70 °F (21 °C).
The winters are warmer, and summers are cooler in the coastal regions than the interior. The temperature in the northwest region’s Norfolk ranges from 22 °F (-6 °C) in January to 66 °F (19 °C) in July. The temperature in the coastal area such as Bridgeport ranges from 30 °F (-1 °C) in January to 71 °F (22 °C) in July.
Rainfall remains evenly distributed throughout the year, and the average annual rainfall level remains around 46.2 in (117 cm). The yearly rainfall received by Connecticut is within 25-60 in (64-150 cm). Northwest part of the state gets the heaviest of snowfall.
The Total Gross Domestic Product for Connecticut grew from US$ 236,392.2 million in 2009 to US$ 275,726.9 million in 2018.
The US Department of Commerce’s data shows that the strong manufacturing sector, as well as robust retail sales, helped the economy of Connecticut to grow at an annual rate of 2.2% (ranking 45th among the 50 US States) in the first-quarter ending on March 31, 2019 (higher than 1.8% rate during Q1 2018).
However, in the second quarter of 2019, the growth rate dropped to 1% (which is around half of the national growth rate of the US and ranking 45th among the 50 US states).
Connecticut had the highest per capita personal income (US$ 76,456) in the US in 2018. However, the income distribution is highly skewed. This state has one of the largest income gaps between the income of the top 1% and that of the bottom 99%. It has one of the highest numbers of millionaires in the US.
In 2018, there total value of exports and imports in Connecticut were US$17,403,393,376 and US$19,853,616,300, resulting in a negative balance of trade of -US$2,450,222,924. The major export items are Aircraft, Industrial Machinery, Precision Instruments, Electrical Machinery, Plastics, etc. The major import items are Industrial Machinery, Precious Stones & Metals, Electrical Machinery, Aircraft, Oil & Mineral Fuels, etc.
The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment in Connecticut was 3.7% in November 2019, higher than the US unemployment rate of 3.5% during the same period. It dropped from 8.7% in November 2009 to 3.7% in November 2019. There are over 334,128 people (9.6% of the total population of 3,482,584) living in poverty in the state in 2017.
Highways are the lifeline of Connecticut. The main roadways are I-84, I-91, I-395, Merritt Parkway, Wilbur Cross Parkway, US Route 7, US Route 8, US Route 9, etc. The rail transit system in Connecticut includes MTA’s Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, Amtrak’s New Haven-Springfield Line, etc. State-owned Connecticut Transit controls the state-wide bus service.
The main airports in the state are Bradley International Airport (in Hartford), Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport (in New Haven), Danbury Municipal Airport (Danbury), Hartford–Brainard Airport (in Hartford), Robertson Field (in Plainville), Simsbury Airport (in Simsbury), Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport (in Bridgeport), Goodspeed Airport (in East Haddam), etc.
Connecticut got “The Constitution State” as the official nickname in 1959 (designated by the General Assembly).
For forming a long-lasting state, the new Connecticut Colony required a government. That’s when a lawyer named Roger Ludlow wrote the Fundamental Orders based on the sermon preached by Reverend Thomas Hooker in Hartford, back in 1639.
It is believed that the Federal Constitution got many of its features from The Fundamental Orders (claimed to be the first written constitution by a historian John Fiske) of 1638-39. That’s how Connecticut got its nickname.
The other nicknames of the state are “The Nutmeg State”, “The Blue Law State”, “The Brownstone State”, “The Freestone State”, “The Provisions State”, and “The Land of Steady Habits”.
Mystic Seaport, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Mystic Aquarium & Institution For Exploration, Gillette Castle State Park, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, Lake Compounce: Family Theme Park, New England Air Museum, Weir Farm National Historic Site, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Roseland Cottage
1) The first telephone directory ever circulated had just 50 entries. In February 1878, it was printed by the New Haven District Telephone Company in New Haven.
2) The USS Nautilus, the oldest nuclear power driven submarine in the world was made in Groton in 1954.
3) The 18th Amendment, also known as Prohibition, was never signed by Rhode Island and Connecticut.
4) Copper was first found in Simsbury in 1705. Subsequently, the copper mine turned into the notorious New-Gate Prison of the War for Independence. The first copper currency in the United States Doctor was introduced by Samuel Higley of Simsbury in 1737.
5) The oldest public library in the U.S. is the Scoville Memorial Library. The compilation of the library started in 1771. Richard Smith, the proprietor of a neighboring blast furnace, made use of donations from the society for purchasing 200 books in London. Sponsors could take and bring back books on the third Monday of each third month. Fines were taken for losses, the most familiar being “staining” by wax trickling from the lights with which the sponsors studied the books.
6) A gathering at Salisbury town chose to sanction the “selectmen draw upon the town treasurer for the sum of one hundred dollars” for buying additional books for the compilation of Scoville Memorial Library on April 9, 1810, which made it the oldest community-backed complimentary town library in the country.
7) The first lady to obtain a United States patent was Mary Kies, a resident of South Killingly. She received it on May 15, 1809 for a process of threading plant fiber with fabric.
8) 21 daring inhabitants of New Haven were the oldest subscribers to telephone exchange facilities in the world. They took this on January 28, 1878.
9) The oldest business community was established at Naugatuck Valley in the United States.
10) Livestock branding in America was first introduced in Connecticut while it was necessary under law for the cultivators to blot all of their pigs.
11) You might not, in any conditions, cross the road walking on your hands in Hartford.
12) Connecticut houses the first newspaper in the United States, which is still in print. The name of the newspaper is The Hartford Courant, and it was founded in 1764.
13) Around 144 newspapers are printed in the state of Connecticut. These newspapers are categorized into monthly, daily, weekly, and Sunday newspapers.
14) Connecticut is the birthplace of inventions like Polaroid camera (1934), the first hamburger (1895), color television (1948), and helicopter (1939).
15) The state of Connecticut first introduced the vehicle law in 1901. The top speed was fixed at 12 miles/hour.
16) The oldest lollipop-manufacturing equipment started functioning for trade in New Haven in 1908. The delicacy was named by George Smith after a famous racehorse.
17) Ella Grasso was nominated in her own ability as the governor of the state in 1974.
18) Connecticut is the first state to come up with long-term registration codes for vehicles. They were initially issued in 1937.
19) Stamford houses the head offices of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
20) Bristol in Connecticut is dubbed the “Mum City” of the United States due to the large number of Chrysanthemums raised and marketed to different states and Canada.
21) New Haven was incorporated as a city in 1784.
22) Danbury, a major army storehouse for the American Independence Forces, was set ablaze and plundered by the British forces under the leadership of Major General William Tryon in April 1777.
23) The oldest blast furnace in the state was constructed in Lakeville in 1762.
24) Groton houses the Submarine Force Museum, which is home to the famous submarine Nautilus, also known as SSN 571. The museum is used as the authorized submarine museum of the U.S. Navy.
25) The official state insect of CT is the Praying Mantis.
26) The most significant harvests of Connecticut are poultry, milk products, tobacco, wood and nursery, vegetables and fruit.
27) The slogan of Connecticut is Qui Transtulit Sustinet, which stands for “He Who Transplanted Still Sustains”.
28) Cut pumpkins were utilized as models for hairdos to guarantee a circular consistent trend in colonial New Haven. Due to this trend, the people of this New England territory were dubbed “pumpkin-heads.”
29) The name Middlebury was originated from the heartland location of the assembly hall of the Town. It is situated at a distance of six miles from three older towns located close by – Southbury, Waterbury, and Woodbury.
30) The oldest human occupiers of contemporary Burlington were parts of the Tunxis Clan, who were members of a group of Algonquian Indians. There is a myth that they utilized the place as a hunting area.
31) The first English colonizers of the state came to the territory in 1636, establishing the agricultural estates of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield.
32) The Monroe Town seal is similar to a circle with the expressions “Town of Monroe Connecticut” inscribed in the external edge of the seal. Within this external ring, there is an outline of the head of James Monroe, the fifth President of the U.S., who served the nation from 1817-1825.
33) In the beginning, Montville, together with Waterford and Groton, formed a portion of New London. Formerly, New London was founded as Pequot in 1646, so named after the Pequot Indians. In 1658, the name was altered to New London.
34) B.F. Clyde’s Cider Mill is the sole steam-driven Cider Mill in the U.S. It is situated in Mystic.
35) The New “Town Bicentennial Emblem” of Hartford was planned by James Thorsell, a 7-year-old boy.
36) The severest natural calamity in the history of New Milford hit in 1902 and the principal commercial division revolving around Bank Street was nearly totally razed by the “Great Fire”.
37) North Stonington got its name for the rocky features of the mountainous landscape in 1724. The town was incorporated in 1807.
38) To enroll to cast your vote in Connecticut you have to:
39) The fabrication of the oldest safety fuse began in 1836 in Simsbury.
40) The oldest steel plant running in the United States was situated in Simsbury in 1728.
41) Wallingford is globally known for the manufacture of tableware (made of silver).
42) Dr. Henry Bronson was the oldest specialist in the healing of Asiatic cholera in 1832. Bronson was a university lecturer at Yale Medical School.
43) Waterbury hosted the oldest golf competition in Connecticut for ladies. It took place on June 12, 1917.
44) West Hartford is the hometown of Noah Webster, who wrote the oldest dictionary printed in 1807.
45) In spite of the fact that West Haven is the newest city in the state of CT, which was incorporated in 1972, it houses a society that goes back more than 360 years, which makes it one of the earliest colonies in the nation.
46) PEZ Candy is manufactured in the Orange City.
47) The earliest friction matches were manufactured by Thomas Sanford in Beacon Falls in 1834.
48) Some of the most celebrated textiles in the world are knit in the Stafford cloth mills.
49) In 1779, the town of Washington was incorporated, and it was named to pay homage to General George Washington.
50) Since 1875, Hartford has been serving as the capital city of the state.
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