Rhode Island
Welcome to Rhode Island - the tiniest state in the country and the second most densely populated!
Wracking in at 48 miles long by 37 miles wide, this tiny state is home to one main city - Providence, a handful of tinier cities, and some how 400 miles of coastline...thanks to their wild and wavy coastal edges and several islands helping boosts up the numbers.
Fun facts:
- Until 2020, Rhode Island held the title of having the longest state name. Massachusetts took that title. Massachusetts has 13 letters. Rhode Island has 11 letter. Why did it take until 2020 for someone to notice? Well… apparently Rhode Islands legal name was formally the “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” totaling 48 characters in length (which is crazy because I grew up in the northeast and never heard of this full name). In 2020, the voters from the state successfully removed Providence Plantation from the name. The runner up, “Commonwealth of Massachusetts” totals 29 characters and takes the title of technically having the longest name.
- 59% of the state is under forest cover where 125,000 acres of land is protected from future development. This is a huge achievement for Rhode Island since the early settlers cleared about two-thirds of their total forests for agricultural purposes. Quite a bounce back!
- Rhode Island was the first and only colony to have clear separation of church and state. Laying inspiration for the eventual United States Constitution.