Guide Note:

Connecticut is one of the 50 US States, and one of the thirteen original colonies that formed the United States at the end of the 18th Century. The state is located on the East Coast of the nation, and is bordered by Massachusetts to its north, New York to its west and south, and Rhode Island to its east.

Fast Facts:

1. Capital: Hartford
2. Governor: M. Jodi Rell
3. Population: 3,405,565 (2000)
4. Statehood: January 9, 1788
5. Time zones: EST
6. Major cities: Bridgeport, Hartford
7. Official state items: Charter Oak (tree), Mountain Laurel (flower), Sperm Whale (animal), Garnet (mineral), Shad (fish)
8. Nickname: The Constitution State

Connecticut was inhabited for thousands of years by Native American tribes such as the Mohegan, from whose language the name of the state derives. In the 1630s Puritan settlers from Massachusetts moved to the area and eventually established a colony with its center in Hartford. Today, Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, with the highest average per capita and median household incomes.

Connecticut's southern border is primarily defined by the Long Island Sound, a large and relatively calm estuary perfect for the maintenance of the maritime industries that initially made the state wealthy.