Massachusetts | Flag, Facts, Maps, Capital, & Attractions

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md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Massachusetts">Introduction & Quick Facts</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref79345"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts#ref79345">Land</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79346"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts#ref79346">Relief</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79347"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts#ref79347">Drainage</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79348"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts#ref79348">Climate</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79349"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life">Plant and animal life</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref79351"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life#ref79351">People</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79352"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life#ref79352">Population composition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79350"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life#ref79350">Settlement patterns</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79353"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life#ref79353">Religious heritage</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79354"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Plant-and-animal-life#ref79354">Social hierarchies</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref79355"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Economy">Economy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79356"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Economy#ref79356">Fishing and agriculture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79357"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Economy#ref79357">Manufacturing, trade, and other services</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79358"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Economy#ref79358">Transportation</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref79359"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Government-and-society">Government and society</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79360"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Government-and-society#ref79360">Constitutional framework</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79362"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Government-and-society#ref79362">Health and welfare</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79361"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Government-and-society#ref79361">Education</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref79363"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Cultural-life">Cultural life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref79364"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/History">History</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79365"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/History#ref79365">European settlement</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79366"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Revolutionary-period-and-statehood">Revolutionary period and statehood</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref79367"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Massachusetts/Revolutionary-period-and-statehood#ref79367">Massachusetts since 1900</a></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Massachusetts">Facts & Stats</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/2345-050-926722A1/flag-pine-tree-Massachusetts-state-field-arms-1971.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/61454" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/2345-004-CA9B0D10/flag-pine-tree-Massachusetts-state-field-arms-1971.jpg" alt="Massachusetts: flag" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/2347-050-12BFE9F9/Massachusetts-state-seal-symbol.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/61456" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/2347-004-FAB09B4B/Massachusetts-state-seal-symbol.jpg" alt="The state seal of Massachusetts has remained in essentially the same form since 1780, though details changed and were standardized in 1898. The arms, as on the state flag, include a crest (an arm holding a sword) and a ribbon with the motto "EnsePetit Pl" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/64158-004-6B5CF2AE/state-flower-Massachusetts.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/53636" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/64158-004-6B5CF2AE/state-flower-Massachusetts.jpg" alt="The mayflower is the state flower of Massachusetts." height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/46/2346-050-EB138090/Massachusetts-state-political-county-boundaries-cities.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/61455" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/46/2346-004-EFFD884C/Massachusetts-state-political-county-boundaries-cities.jpg" alt="Map of Massachusetts" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-050-A985DC13/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/95477" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-004-AFB58DD0/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg" alt="Cape Cod" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-050-9649FB05/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/232857" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-004-803CD5C4/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg" alt="Massachusetts" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-050-F666A105/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/212265" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-004-C41523C6/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg" alt="Boston: Leonard P. 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.visitma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Official Tourism Site of Massachusetts, United States</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.mass.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Official Site of Commonwealth of Massachusetts</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.netstate.com/states/intro/ma_intro.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">NETSTATE - Massachusetts</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Massachusetts/345496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Massachusetts - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Massachusetts/275725" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Massachusetts - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 d-none mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10 px-sm-5 px-md-10 js-header-ai-ask-button"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Bay State, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Jack-Tager/5157" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Jack Tager</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Co-author of <i>Massachusetts in the Gilded Age; Historical Atlas of Massachusetts;</i> and <i>Massachusetts: A Concise History.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Jack Tager</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Martha-L-Clark/3501" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Martha L. Clark</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Special Assistant to the Archivist, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Martha L. Clark</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-04-02T00:00:00CDT" >Apr 2, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/368402/1dd330bef8fb44b05f9818c0020728a0" rel="nofollow">Detained Tufts student taken from Massachusetts before judge ordered her kept there, government says</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Apr. 2, 2025, 7:18 AM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/368402/1de803321758f8f907e9faedf16f76aa" rel="nofollow">A mayor's lawsuit shut down a newspaper over fake stories. 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championships even as it mourns plane crash victims</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Mar. 25, 2025, 5:16 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="95477" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-050-A985DC13/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/95477"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-050-A985DC13/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-050-A985DC13/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg?w=300" alt="Cape Cod" data-width="1600" data-height="1070" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/95853-050-A985DC13/Boats-harbour-Cape-Cod-Massachusetts.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/95477">Cape Cod</a><span>Boats in a harbour, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="232857" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-050-9649FB05/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/232857"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-050-9649FB05/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-050-9649FB05/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg?w=300" alt="Massachusetts" data-width="2000" data-height="1360" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/195706-050-9649FB05/Massachusetts-united-states-locator-map.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/232857">Massachusetts</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="212265" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-050-F666A105/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/212265"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-050-F666A105/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-050-F666A105/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg?w=300" alt="Boston: Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge" data-width="800" data-height="449" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">3 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/167889-050-F666A105/Leonard-P-Zakim-Bunker-Hill-Memorial-Bridge.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/212265">Boston: Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge</a><span>Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge at night in Boston.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="212672" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/167912-050-3C869B7C/Boston-skyline.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/212672"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/167912-050-3C869B7C/Boston-skyline.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/167912-050-3C869B7C/Boston-skyline.jpg?w=300" alt="Boston" data-width="767" data-height="511" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">4 of 4</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/12/167912-050-3C869B7C/Boston-skyline.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/212672">Boston</a><span>Boston skyline at night.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref614900"></span>Massachusetts</strong>, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituent" data-type="MW">constituent</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/state-United-States-political-subdivision" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">state</a> of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United States</a> of America. It was one of the original 13 states and is one of the 6 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New England</a> states, lying in the northeastern corner of the country. Massachusetts (officially called a commonwealth) is bounded to the north by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Vermont" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vermont</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Hampshire-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New Hampshire</a>, to the east and southeast by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Atlantic Ocean</a>, to the south by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhode-Island-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhode Island</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Connecticut" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Connecticut</a>, and to the west by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New York</a>. It is the seventh smallest of the U.S. states in terms of total area. Its capital is <span id="ref930973"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Boston" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Boston</a>, the state’s most populous city. English explorer and colonist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Smith-British-explorer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Smith</a> named the state for the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Massachuset" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Massachuset</a> tribe, whose name meant “near the great hill”—believed to refer to Blue Hill, which rises south of Boston in an otherwise flat area. Massachusetts’s residents represent an amalgamation of the prototypical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yankee-nickname" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yankee</a> spirit of an earlier America and the energies of the later immigrants who flocked to its cities in the 19th and 20th centuries.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Massachusetts is unique among states because its history and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a> predate and epitomize the experiences of the country as a whole. It is commonly known that the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Puritanism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Puritan</a>s and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pilgrim-Fathers" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pilgrim</a>s set the stage for eventual liberty of religious belief when they fled an oppressive <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/government" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">government</a> to settle in the New World. With such documents as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mayflower-Compact" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mayflower Compact</a> (1620) and the Body of Liberties (1641), an early code of law, they provided the basis for the concept that governments should rule by consent of the governed and with guarantees to protect individual expression.</p><div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="m-n10 "> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 media-slider card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="rw-track w-100"> <div class="pt-10 d-inline-flex col-100"> <div class="w-100"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/2345-050-926722A1/flag-pine-tree-Massachusetts-state-field-arms-1971.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/61454" class="media-overlay-link card-media d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center px-20" > <div class="position-relative"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/2345-050-926722A1/flag-pine-tree-Massachusetts-state-field-arms-1971.jpg" alt="Massachusetts: flag" class="cropped-false w-100 media-slide-img" /> <em class="material-icons qf-zoom" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> <div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg"> 1 of 3</div> </div> </a> <div class="card-body text-center pt-5 pb-10 font-14"> <span>See article: <a href="/topic/flag-of-Massachusetts">flag of Massachusetts</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pt-10 d-inline-flex col-100"> <div class="w-100"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/2347-050-12BFE9F9/Massachusetts-state-seal-symbol.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/61456" class="media-overlay-link card-media d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center px-20" > <div class="position-relative"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/2347-050-12BFE9F9/Massachusetts-state-seal-symbol.jpg" alt="The state seal of Massachusetts has remained in essentially the same form since 1780, though details changed and were standardized in 1898. The arms, as on the state flag, include a crest (an arm holding a sword) and a ribbon with the motto "EnsePetit Pl" class="cropped-false w-100 media-slide-img" /> <em class="material-icons qf-zoom" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> <div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg"> 2 of 3</div> </div> </a> <div class="card-body text-center pt-5 pb-10 font-14"> Seal of Massachusetts</div> </div> </div> <div class="pt-10 d-inline-flex col-100"> <div class="w-100"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/64158-004-6B5CF2AE/state-flower-Massachusetts.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/53636" class="media-overlay-link card-media d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center px-20" > <div class="position-relative"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/64158-004-6B5CF2AE/state-flower-Massachusetts.jpg" alt="The mayflower is the state flower of Massachusetts." class="cropped-false w-100 media-slide-img" /> <em class="material-icons qf-zoom" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> <div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg"> 3 of 3</div> </div> </a> <div class="card-body text-center pt-5 pb-10 font-14"> The mayflower is the state flower of Massachusetts.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue btn-blue-dark" aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue btn-blue-dark" aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Capital: </dt> <dd><a href="/place/Boston">Boston</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Population<Sup>1</Sup>: </dt> <dd>(2020) 7,029,917; (2024 est.) 7,136,171</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Governor: </dt> <dd>Maura Healey (Democrat)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date Of Admission: </dt> <dd>Feb. 6, 1788<sup>2</sup></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>U.S. Senators: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Ed-Markey">Ed Markey</a> (Democrat)</dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Elizabeth-Warren">Elizabeth Warren</a> (Democrat)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>State Nickname: </dt> <dd>Bay State</dd> <dd>Old Colony State</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>State Motto: </dt> <dd>"Ense Petit Placidam Sub Libertate Quietem (By the Sword We Seek Peace, But Peace Only Under Liberty)"</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>State Bird<Sup>3</Sup>: </dt> <dd>black-capped chickadee</dd> <dd>wild turkey</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>State Flower: </dt> <dd><a href="/plant/trailing-arbutus-plant">mayflower</a> (trailing arbutus)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>State Song: </dt> <dd>“All Hail to Massachusetts”</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Seats In U.S. House Of Representatives: </dt> <dd>9 (of 435)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Time Zone: </dt> <dd>Eastern (GMT − 5 hours)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Total Area (Sq Km): </dt> <dd>27,336</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Total Area (Sq Mi): </dt> <dd>10,554</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="footnotes mb-15"> <ol> <li>Excluding military abroad.</li> <li>Original state; date shown is that of ratification of Constitution.</li> <li>The wild turkey is the state game bird.</li> </ol> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Massachusetts"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">These notions of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberty-human-rights" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">individual liberty</a> came into conflict with the colonies’ status as part of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/British-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">British Empire</a>. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">American Revolution</a> originated in Massachusetts with the first resistance against British colonial rules. It was in Massachusetts that the colonists raised the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/hue-and-cry" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">hue and cry</a> against taxation without representation, as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="exemplified" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/exemplified" data-type="EB">exemplified</a> by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-Tea-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Boston Tea Party</a>; the activism of the Massachusetts colonists inspired others and culminated in the “shot heard round the world” at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battles-of-Lexington-and-Concord" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Battles of Lexington and Concord</a> in 1775.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Massachusetts was in the vanguard when the new country began transforming itself from an agrarian to an industrial economy. The state’s merchants, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Cabot-Lowell" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Francis Cabot Lowell</a>, whose fortunes depended on trade, sought safer investments after severe losses during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">War of 1812</a>. Textile, boot, and machinery manufacturing began in Massachusetts (and Rhode Island) and set the groundwork for the eventual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/industrialization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">industrialization</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/urbanization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">urbanization</a> of the northeastern states. Farmers and their sons and daughters <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="trekked" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/trekked" data-type="EB">trekked</a> to the new cities; by the mid-1870s, Massachusetts had become the first state in the Union in which more people lived in towns and cities than in rural areas.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Throughout the 19th century, Massachusetts was a leading manufacturing centre. Southern competition in the first half of the 20th century led to a massive economic decline, resulting in the closing of factories throughout the state. But <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cold War</a> created new high-technology industries that depended on federal largesse in the form of defense spending. Meanwhile, service activities such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/finance" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">finance</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/education" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">education</a>, and health care expanded, helping to create a new economy with Boston as its centre. In 2004 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize <span id="ref930974"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/same-sex-marriage" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">same-sex marriage</a>; the law pointed out that excluding certain citizens from a valued institution was incompatible with the principles of individual <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="autonomy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomy" data-type="MW">autonomy</a> and legal equality. Massachusetts’s long struggle to maintain individual liberty while paying attention to communal needs resulted in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/coalition" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">coalition</a> of democratic principles and capitalist drives that are the hallmark of the United States. Area 10,554 square miles (27,336 square km). Population (2020) 7,029,917; (2024 est.) 7,136,171.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/50-states-50-fun-facts-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/41/257741-131-8B99D74E/USA-United-States-watercolor-map-illustration.jpg" alt="USA, United States watercolor map Illustration in rainbow colors" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">50 States, 50 Fun Facts Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref79345"><h2 class="h1"><span id="ref614902"></span>Land</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="64113" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/20615-050-FD04D705/Massachusetts-physical-features-state.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/64113"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/20615-050-FD04D705/Massachusetts-physical-features-state.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/20615-050-FD04D705/Massachusetts-physical-features-state.jpg?w=300" alt="Massachusetts" data-width="2000" data-height="1397" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/15/20615-050-FD04D705/Massachusetts-physical-features-state.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/64113">Massachusetts</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="3831" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/4835-050-E5C28112/New-England.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/368402/3831"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/4835-050-E5C28112/New-England.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/4835-050-E5C28112/New-England.jpg?w=300" alt="United States: New England" data-width="1514" data-height="2000" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/4835-050-E5C28112/New-England.jpg" data-href="/media/1/368402/3831">United States: New England</a><span>New England.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The Massachusetts coastline is about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in length, yet the cross-country distances are only 190 miles (310 km) from east to west and 110 miles (180 km) from north to south. The coast—whose <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="configuration" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/configuration" data-type="EB">configuration</a> marked by numerous embayments gave rise to Massachusetts’s nickname, the Bay State—winds from Rhode Island around <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Cod" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cape Cod</a>, in and out of scenic harbours along the shore south of Boston, through Boston Harbor and up the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Shore" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Shore</a>, swinging around the painters’ paradise of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Ann" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cape Ann</a> to New Hampshire.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <section data-level="2" id="ref79346"><h2 class="h2">Relief</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The indented coast of Massachusetts was formed by the great glaciers that in some places covered the land with several thousand feet of ice. When the last ice disappeared some 11,000 years ago, massive chunks of rocks were exposed along the shore. Hard, flat land stretches out beyond, becoming stony upland pastures near the central part of the state and a gently hilly country in the west. Except toward the west, the land is rocky, often sandy, and not fertile.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the southeast, <span id="ref614903"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Cod" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cape Cod</a> juts out into the ocean, forming Cape Cod Bay. This 65-mile- (105-km-) long appendage is rectangular in shape except at its easternmost point, where it hooks northward. Its offshore waters are among the most treacherous in the country. Tufts of grass spring up along the sand dunes, and gnarled jack pines and scrub oaks, some only head high, grow in bunches. Off the southeastern coast lie the islands of <span id="ref614906"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nantucket" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nantucket</a> and <span id="ref614907"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Marthas-Vineyard" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martha’s Vineyard</a>, lashed by the gray Atlantic in winter but in summer alive with thousands of tourists and longtime seasonal residents.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Central Massachusetts <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="comprises" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprises" data-type="MW">comprises</a> rolling plains fed by innumerable streams. Beyond lie the broad and fertile Connecticut River valley and the <span id="ref614908"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Berkshire-Hills" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Berkshire Hills</a>. The now-paved <span id="ref614909"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mohawk-Trail" class="md-crosslink ">Mohawk Trail</a> crosses the Berkshires—the Hoosac Range on the east and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Taconic-Range" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Taconic Range</a> on the west. The state’s highest point, 3,491 feet (1,064 metres), is <span id="ref614910"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Greylock" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mount Greylock</a>, on the Taconic side near <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Adams-Massachusetts" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Adams</a>. In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Adams" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">North Adams</a> a natural bridge of white marble has been formed by the wind and water, and at nearby Sutton is a short gorge that knifes through the rock, exposing some 600 million years of geologic history.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="2" id="ref79347"><h2 class="h2">Drainage</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The land is veined with rivers—19 main systems, the most notable of which are the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Connecticut-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Connecticut</a>, <span id="ref614912"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Charles-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charles</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Merrimack-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Merrimack</a>. More than 1,100 ponds and lakes lie among the hollows of the hills; there is a body of water in almost every one of the more than 350 <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="communities" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communities" data-type="MW">communities</a>. Many bear long Indian names, most notably Lake Chaubunagungamaug (in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Webster-Massachusetts" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Webster</a>), the long form of which is <span id="ref614911"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</a>. The best-known small body of water, however, is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Walden-Pond" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Walden Pond</a>, immortalized by writer and philosopher <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-David-Thoreau" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henry David Thoreau</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Boston <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/metropolitan-area" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">metropolitan area</a> gets its drinking water from <span id="ref930975"></span>Quabbin Reservoir in the western part of the state. The world’s largest man-made domestic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/water-supply" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">water supply</a>, it was built between 1933 and 1939 and required the displacement of 2,500 people and four towns (Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott) to provide water for dozens of towns and cities to the east.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="2" id="ref79348"><h2 class="h2">Climate</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The state has a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="temperate" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/temperate" data-type="EB">temperate</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">climate</a>. The climate is colder but drier in western Massachusetts, although its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/winter" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">winter</a> snowfalls may be more severe than those nearer the coast. July is the hottest month, averaging about 71 °F (22 °C), in contrast to 26 °F (−3 °C) in January, the coldest month. Annual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/precipitation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">precipitation</a> averages 42 inches (1,070 mm) in Boston and 44 to 45 inches (1,120 to 1,140 mm) in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Worcester-Massachusetts" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Worcester</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pittsfield" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pittsfield</a>, in the central and western parts of the state, respectively.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span></section> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":7,"pageId":368402,"pageLength":1223,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-134/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.134.26"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-134/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.134.26' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"STATE_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true,"hasAiTopQuestions":false,"hasSimplifyButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Massachusetts | Flag, Facts, Maps, Capital, & Attractions | Britannica