Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state, yet it boasts the longest official name: The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Despite its name and size, Rhode Island is not an island. Most of the state consists of Providence Plantations, a term originally applied to the mainland. The name Rhode Island was applied to Aquidneck Island before it came to identify the entire state.
One of six New England states, “Little Rhody” is tucked in between Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies in the path of the Appalachian highlands. It’s hard to believe that Rhode Island’s landscape was as spectacular as the modern Rocky Mountains millions of years ago.
Most of the Rhode Island landscape consists of small, rolling hills and valleys, souvenirs of the great mountains that once towered over the land. The highest point in Rhode Island is 812-foot Jerimoth Hill.
Lowlands cover much of eastern and southern Rhode Island. Here is a world of sandy beaches, marshes and brackish ponds, and rockscapes. Within the Narragansett Basin of eastern Rhode Island are about thirty-five small islands. The anchor on Rhode Island’s flag is a reminder of the sea that is so many times larger than Rhode Island itself.
Rhode Island was the first of the original thirteen colonies to declare independence from British rule, igniting the American Revolution. It was also the last of the thirteen to ratify the United States constitution.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
