Origin of the State Name
           New Hampshire was named for Hampshire, England by Captain John Mason

      Nicknames
           New Hampshire has 4 nicknames. The first is the one by which the state is commonly known.

           Granite State: for our extensive granite formations and quarries
           Mother of Rivers: for the rivers of New England that originate in our Mountains
           White Mountain State: for the White Mountain Range
           Switzerland of America: for our beautiful mountain scenery

      Capitol
           Concord is the seat of New Hampshire government. It is centrally located in the state on the Merrimack
           River.

      Statehood
           New Hampshire became the 9th state on June 12, 1788. It was one of the original 13 colonies.

      Population
           1,185,000 (1998 estimates)

      Local Government
           New Hampshire has 10 counties, 13 municipalities, 221 towns and 22 unincorporated places.

      State Seal, Flag and Symbols
           New Hampshire has adopted many symbols over the past 200 years, beginning with the first state
           seal in 1775 and continuing to the most recent symbol, the State Tartan in 1995.

           The flag, seal and various symbols are all ways the state identifies itself. They had been adopted by
           the legislature as symbolic of the state in one way or another.

                Motto
                     Live Free or Die. The motto comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary General
                     John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington.

                State Seal
                     In the center is a broadside view of the frigate "Raleigh", in the left foreground is a granite
                     boulder, and in the background a rising sun. A laurel wreath and the words Seal of the
                     State of New Hampshire surround the whole.

                Flag
                     The state flag has the state seal centered on a blue field surrounded by laurel leaves with
                     nine stars

                State Emblem
                     A replica of the Old Man of the Mountain surrounded with the name of the state above and
                     the motto below.

                State Symbols
                     State Bird. The purple finch. Adopted in 1957.
                     State Tree. The white birch. Adopted in 1947.
                     State Insect. The ladybug. Adopted in 1977.
                     State Flower. The purple lilac. Adopted in 1919.
                     State Amphibian. The red-spotted newt. Adopted in 1985.
                     State Animal. The white tailed deer. Adopted in 1983.
                     State Gem. Smokey Quartz. Adopted in 1985.
                     State Mineral. Beryl. Adopted in 1985.
                     State Rock Granite. Adopted in 1985.
                     State Wildflower. Pink Ladyslipper. Adopted in 1990.
                     State Butterfly. Karner Blue. Adopted in 1992.
                     State Freshwater Game Fish. Brook Trout. Adopted in 1994.
                     State Saltwater Game Fish. Striped Bass. Adopted in 1994.
                     State Tartan Adopted in 1995.
                     State Sport Adopted in 1998.

      Land
           New Hampshire is located in northeastern United States. The total area of the state is 9,304 sq miles
           (24,097 sq km), comprising 9,027 sq miles (23,380 sq km) of land and 277 sq miles (717 sq km) of
           inland water. New Hampshire is bordered on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec; on the
           east by Maine and the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by Massachusetts; and the on the west by
           Vermont. Its geographic center lies in Belknap county, 3 miles (5 km) east of the town of Ashland.

           It is one of the six New England states, the others being Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode
           Island and Connecticut.

           Geographies sometimes speak of the state as the "Mother of Rivers." Five of the great streams of
           New England originate in its granite hills. The Connecticut River rises in the north; the Pemigewasset
           River starts in the Profile Lake in the Franconia mountains and joins the Winnipesaukee at Franklin to
           form the Merrimack River; the Cocheco and Salmon Falls rivers join at Dover to form the Piscataqua
           River; and two of the principal rivers of Maine, the Androscoggin and the Saco, have their beginnings
           in northern New Hampshire .

           New Hampshire has 1300 lakes or ponds and about 40 rivers with a total milage of about 41,800
           miles.

      Elevation
           The highest point is Mount Washington at 6,288 feet (1,918 m); lowest point is sea level; approximate
           mean elevation is 1,000 feet (305 m).

      Climate
           New Hampshire has a changeable climate, with wide variations in daily and seasonal temperatures.
           The variations are affected by proximity to the ocean, mountains, lakes or rivers. The state enjoys all
           four seasons. Our summers are short and cool; winters are long and cold; fall is glorious with foliage.
           The weather station on Mount Washington has recorded some of the coldest temperatures and
           strongest winds in the continental United States.

      Flora and Fauna
           New Hampshire is heavily forested with an abundance of elm, maple, beech, oak, pine, hemlock and
           fir trees. Mount Washington features rare alpine plants such as Greenland sandwort, Labrador tea,
           alpine bearberry, dwarf cinquefoil and dwarf birch, willow and balsam fir.

           Among native New Hampshire mammals are the white-tailed deer, muskrat, beaver, porcupine and
           snowshoe hare. Threatened animals include the pine marten, arctic tern, purple martin, peregrine
           falcon, whip-por-will and osprey. The karner blue butterfly, lynx, bald eagle, shortnose sturgeon,
           Sunapee trout, Atlantic salmon and dwarf wedge mussel are on the State's endangered species list.