The Northeast states: New England and the Mid-Atlantic states

NY terrain from http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/ny_0.html
Originally uploaded by trudeau

The Northeastern US consists of nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The Northeast, as defined by the Census Bureau, is the wealthiest region of the United States. The region accounts for approximately 25% of U.S. gross domestic product as of 2007.[5]

The Northeast megalopolis: almost the entire U.S. eastern seaboard, including the megalopolis (heavily urbanized area of the United States stretching from the southern suburbs of Washington, D.C. to the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts) , is linked by the I-95 Interstate, which runs from Florida through Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and up to Boston and into Maine.

The northern Mid-Atlantic states provided the young United States with heavy industry and served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe.[citation needed] Cities grew along major shipping routes and waterways, such as Philadelphia on the Delaware River and New York City on the Hudson River.

Early settlers were mostly farmers and traders, and the region served as a bridge between North and South.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania midway between the northern and southern colonies, was the site of the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates from the original colonies that organized the American Revolution. The same city was the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.