Portal:New England/Selected State/5
Rhode Island
Incorporated 1776
Co-ordinates 41.7°N 71.5°W
Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is the smallest in area, the 8th least populous, but the 2nd most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
Rhode Island was the first of the original Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from British rule, declaring itself independent on May 4, 1776, two months before any other colony. The State was also the last of the thirteen original colonies to ratify the United States Constitution.
Rhode Island's official nickname is "The Ocean State," a reference to the State's geography, since Rhode Island has several large bays and inlets that amount to about fourteen (14) percent of its total area. Its land area is 1,045 square miles (2706 km2), but its total area is significantly larger. (Full article...)