Back in May I had the opportunity to start a fun project that I named, not so cleverly, 50 States Postcard Swap. Since spending a couple of months organizing and gathering names, we started mailing postcards in July. One of the first cards, if not the first postcard we received was a homemade postcard from Georgia. Before then it had never crossed my mind to make our postcards. I had just spent time thinking about where I could buy a bunch of decent postcards for not too much money. I was much inspired and decided we too would make our own postcards!
 
Now there aren’t really any fantastic attractions right where we live to include in our postcard so I decided to take the kids to Niagara Falls and take some photos there. We spent a nice afternoon hiking around the American Falls and the photo below is what I made out of a few of the photos I took from that trip.
 

 
I was then inspired by another person who decided to post their Arizona State Facts/Symbols and photo collage on their blog.
 
So here is a quick compilation of some of the major facts/symbols of New York State (NY):
 
New York was the 11th state in the USA; it became a state on July 26, 1788.
 

 
State Abbreviation – NY
State Capital – Albany
Biggest City – New York City
Area – 54,475 square miles [New York is the 27th largest state in the USA]
Population – 18,976,457 (as of 2000) [New York is the third most populous state in the USA, after California and Texas]
Main Rivers – Hudson River, Mohawk River, Genesee River
Highest Point – Mt. Marcy, 5,344 feet (1,629 m) above sea level
Number of Counties – 62
Bordering States – Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island (water border)
Bordering Countries – Canada, Mexico
Bordering Bodies of Water – Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Champlain, Atlantic Ocean
 
Origin of the Name New York – The English took over of the area that had been called “New Netherland” in 1664, and renamed it New York to honor the Duke of York (York is a city in England).
State Nickname – The Empire State
State Motto – Excelsior (Ever Upwards)
State Song – “I Love New York”
 
State Flag
 

 
State Bird – Eastern Bluebird
State Insect – 9 Spotted Ladybug
State Flower – Rose
State Tree – Sugar Maple
State Fruit – Apple