Publications

Mississippi holds a significant place in the cultural and economic history of the United States. For example, the Magnolia State was a hotbed for the Delta blues, an early 20th century musical genre with tremendous cultural effects in the United States and around the world. The “Delta” in Delta blues is the Mississippi River Delta, the largest delta in the United States. The Mississippi...

Alabama’s warm climate and rich soil bolster its agriculture and timber industries, but they also offer ideal conditions for natural playgrounds, enjoyed by humans and the wildlife that call the open green spaces home. Alabama has 21 State parks and 11 national parks, monuments, and trails across its diverse geography. Cotton is no longer king in the Cotton State, but it remains a part...

From the flat, rich soil of western Tennessee to the Appalachian Mountains in the east, and rolling hills in between, “the Volunteer State” enjoys a wealth of natural resources. The Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi Rivers supply economically crucial navigation routes, along with recreation for residents and visitors. Additionally, 14 million acres of hardwood and softwood forests...

Rhode Island is an oasis of natural calm surrounded by heavily urbanized East Coast areas, which may explain why the smallest State in the United States is such a popular tourist destination for residents of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, or perhaps its popularity is a measure of the Ocean State’s abundant wildlife and picturesque views. Although small in land area, Rhode Island...

Delaware’s status as the first State to ratify the U.S. Constitution is a well-known point of pride. “The First State” is among Delaware’s nicknames, alongside “the Blue Hen State,” “the Diamond State,” and “the Small Wonder,” the last of which relates to Delaware’s diminutive land area—larger only than Rhode Island. Less well known, perhaps, is Delaware’s geographic distinction as the...

Louisiana holds a unique historical, economic, and cultural position in the national consciousness. Its off-shore oil operations help fuel the U.S. economy. The Port of South Louisiana is the busiest in the United States by cargo volume; the nearby Port of New Orleans is the sixth busiest. The former French and Spanish colony served as a key connection to the Caribbean long before U.S

Iowa is famous for plenty of reasons—its State Fair butter sculptures, its first-in-the-Nation presidential caucuses, and the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, whose mascot doubles as the State nickname—but “corn” might be the first word to cross the mind of a non-Iowan. Iowa consistently leads the United States in corn production and in the production of hogs, which in turn consume a sizable...

At its widest point, a mere 80 miles separate the eastern and western borders of New Hampshire. Its northern and southern borders are just 175 miles apart. Even so, few States can boast as much rugged natural beauty per mile as the Nation’s fifth smallest. Nestled within New Hampshire are 93 State parks teeming with moose, Ursus americanus (Pallas, 1780; black bears), coyotes, beavers...

Kansas seems synonymous with agriculture, and rightly so—87 percent of Kansas land is devoted to it. As a key contributor to the State’s economy, agriculture makes Kansas one of the top producers of wheat, grain sorghum, and cattle in the country, but the State at the geographic center of the conterminous United States contains much more than fields and pastures. Deciduous woodlands...

The rolling plains of Nebraska occupy a storied place in the American psyche. For those living outside the Midwest, the Cornhusker State may be seen as a symbol of the Nation’s heartland, cropped border to border, with country churches and barely standing barns to be found around every turn of its gravel roads. Although the pioneer history and agricultural heritage of the 37th State lend...

Wisconsin could be called a State of icons, and many of the icons can trace their roots to the abundant resources within its four borders. Big beer companies in Milwaukee that began in the 1800s made their beer from water from nearby lakes and rivers, kept it cool with ice from those same sources, and stored it in containers made of harvested wood from State forests. Dairy and cheese...

New Jersey ranks among the smallest of States but packs a lot within its borders. Of course, that includes the more than 9 million people who make it the most densely populated State, but it also includes diverse landscapes. Ranging from Atlantic Ocean barrier islands and beaches to the Appalachian Mountains, and Pine Barrens forests to swampland, the “Garden State” retains remnants of...