The Connecticut is the only navigable river. It contains a number of islands, which collectively form the county of Grand Isle, and its shores are deeply indented. The chief harbor is that of Burlington, the seat of the Vermont lumber trade. The outlet of Lake Champlain is the Sorel or Richelieu river, which empties into the St. Lawrence. Vermont is subject to great extremes of temperature, although not liable to sudden changes, and the winters are severe.
Much snow falls, especially on the mountains.
The country was first visited by Champlain, in the year 1609, but the earliest white settlements within the present limits of Vermont were made about 1724-25 near Brattleboro, where a fort was erected by some Massachusetts emigrants. The French built a fort in 1731, near the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, but soon abandoned it. Title was, however, claimed by New York, and a conflict of jurisdiction occurring, the king in council decided in favor of New York. The attempt then made by that province to dispossess the settlers holding under the New Hampshire grants led to active hostilities. As early as 1775 the Vermonters actively participated in the war against the British.