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Rhode Island
The Ocean State, smallest in the nation
Rhode Island is the smallest state by far — barely 1,545 square miles (4,001 km²), small enough to fit inside many a single county elsewhere — yet its coastline runs more than 400 miles thanks to the great bite of Narragansett Bay. The bay nearly cleaves the state in two, reaching deep inland past islands, peninsulas, and harbors. That intimate relationship with the sea earns the official nickname, the Ocean State — no point in Rhode Island lies more than a short drive from salt water.
The land itself is gentle: low and rolling in the west, flattening to coastal lowland and sandy beaches in the south. Jerimoth Hill, the high point, is a mere 812 feet (247 m). Narragansett Bay, carved by glaciers and drowned by rising seas, made the state a maritime and industrial power, lined with mill towns and the old sailing capital of Newport. Providence, at the head of the bay, anchors a densely settled little state that has always faced the water.
Economy
Rhode Island, once a textile and jewelry-manufacturing center, now leans on healthcare, education, and finance, along with a defense presence at Naval Station Newport and a tourism industry built on the Newport mansions and a deep sailing heritage. Its small size and Narragansett Bay setting keep it closely tied to the sea.
Politics
Rhode Island carries 4 electoral votes and votes reliably Democratic in presidential elections, one of the most consistently Democratic states in the country, with deep Catholic and labor roots.