Most of Vermont s soils are thin and rocky. The most fertile soils are found in the Connecticut and Champlain valleys. Lush grasses help make Vermont the most important dairying state in New England. But Vermont is perhaps most famous for its maple syrup industry. Like Maine and New Hampshire, Vermont has short, mild summers and long, cold winters.
Fewer people live in Vermont than any other state east of the Mississippi River.
They are very proud of Vermont s scenic beauty, peace, and quiet. Vermonters try hard to prevent litter and pollution. T owards the end of the Ice Age, Vermont s mountains, hills, and valleys probably looked much as they do today. Places near the sea are generally warmer than places that are far inland. Perhaps Vermont winters were a bit warmer towards the end of the Ice Age, because part of Vermont was actually covered by an arm of the sea.