New Hampshire stood as one of the original 13 colonies that revolted against British rule in 1774. Later on, they became the first state to form their own government and join the Union. Learn more about this amazing state with these 50 New Hampshire facts.
- 01New Hampshire covers an area of over 24,000 km².
- 02On average the state stands around 300 meters above sea level.
- 03At its lowest point along the Atlantic coast, the state stands at sea level itself.
- 04An estimated 1.38 million people live in New Hampshire today.
- 05This gives it an estimated population density of 57 people for every km².
New Hampshire has its own anthem.
It’s called Old New Hampshire, with the lyrics first written by Dr. John Holmes in 1926. Later that same year, the composer Maurice Hoffman composed a musical accompaniment for the lyrics. Ironically, New Hampshire’s General Court actually blocked the song’s declaration as the state song in 1941.
Then in 1943, the General Court again stopped a potential way for the song to become the state song. It did this by killing a bill in the state legislature to hold a public contest and a cash prize for the public to pick a state song. It wasn’t until 1949 when the General Court finally agreed to name Old New Hampshire as the state song. Other honorary state songs followed in the succeeding decades, with Old New Hampshire getting a second vote in 1977.
It also has various state icons.
For starters, New Hampshire has the red-spotted newt as its state amphibian, with the purple finch as the state bird. It also has the Karner blue as the state butterfly, the chinook as the state dog, and the purple lilac as the state flower.
For fish, New Hampshire has two state fishes, one freshwater, and one marine. The brook trout makes up the state’s freshwater fish, and the striped bass its marine fish.
New Hampshire also considers the ladybug as its state insect, the white-tailed deer as its state mammal, and the white birch as the state tree. Other state icons include the pumpkin as the state fruit, the white potato as the state vegetable, and the blackberry as the state berry.
New Hampshire has a unique geography.
For one thing, the state has the shortest ocean coastline of any of the US states, at only 29 km. Some sources even claim discrepancies, leading to even shorter measurements of 21 km of the ocean coast.
The White Mountains also run through the north-central part of New Hampshire. These mountains commonly endure hurricane-force winds, and lack heavy tree cover to break up the wind. It has a reputation for having some of the worst weather in the world, causing hikers to lose their lives in the mountains.
Various rivers also run through the state, such as the Merrimack River, and the Connecticut River. The latter flows south from Lake Connecticut, ironically located in New Hampshire, before arriving in the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut River also defines New Hampshire’s western border, along the state of Vermont’s eastern border.