New York soils can be grouped into categories based on their parent material. One of the most productive groups is found in regions of lime-rich glacial till. Where drainage is good and the terrain not too steep, these soils are excellent for agriculture. They occur in a broad belt across the state and into the Hudson valley. Another lime-rich soil group is found in areas that were formerly glacial lake beds, such as the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and large parts of the Hudson and St. Lawrence valleys. Soils of this group are fine-textured and are characterized by level topography. Where drainage is not a problem, these soils are quite suitable for agriculture. Alluvial soils, formed from the sediments of glacial meltwater and the floodwaters of present-day streams, are found in many valley bottoms, especially in the Appalachian Highlands and along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Most of Long Island is also covered by alluvial soils, which often have excellent productive potential. Other soils less suitable for agriculture are derived from lime-poor glacial till, such as those north of the major limestone outcroppings near Lake Ontario, or from material that is too shallow or coarse, such as those in the rugged mountainous areas of the state or in the sandy region west and north of Albany.

Climate

The early Dutch settlers found that New York’s climate fell far short of their expectations. Since Manhattan is actually Mediterranean in latitude, these early settlers were rather bewildered to encounter its snowy, freezing winter weather. If Manhattan was uncomfortably cold and wet in the winter months, the rest of the state must have been an even greater disappointment.

Average July temperatures range from 77 °F (25 °C) in New York City to 64 °F (18 °C) at Indian Lake in the Adirondacks; averages in January range from 33 °F (0.5 °C) on Long Island to 14 °F (−10 °C) at Stillwater Reservoir in the Adirondacks. These figures represent the extremes, but there are substantial differences in climate between New York City and upstate Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. A tendency to cloudiness across the state results in few completely clear days.

Precipitation ranges from 32 to 45 inches (810 to 1,140 mm) a year, with the Catskills receiving the greatest amount, while the Erie-Ontario Lowlands receive the least. The region around Syracuse receives an unusual amount of lake-effect snow (an annual average of about 115 inches [2,900 mm]) because of its location near Lake Ontario; the Buffalo area, on Lake Erie, is also renowned for its annual heavy snowfalls (averaging some 95 inches [2,400 mm]).

Plant and animal life

More than three-fifths of New York state is forested woodland. Some 150 kinds of trees, including such southern species as the tulip tree (yellow poplar) and sweet gum, are found in the state. Most woodland, however, is dominated by a small number of northern hardwoods, chiefly beeches and sugar maples in association with species of ash, basswood, cherry, birch, red maple, oak, and, occasionally, conifers such as white pine and hemlock. The spruce-fir association found in extensive parts of the Adirondacks and the largely oak-dominated forests in southeastern New York are the major exceptions to the northern hardwood forests.

Small mammals such as deer mice, eastern cottontails, snowshoe hares, woodchucks, gray squirrels, muskrats, and raccoons are common. Larger mammals include white-tailed deer, beavers, and black bears. New York is host to numerous migratory birds. Year-round residents include eastern meadowlarks, American goldfinches, cardinals, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, bluejays, several kinds of woodpeckers and owls, red-tailed hawks, ruffed grouses, mallards, and common house sparrows, introduced to North America from Europe in the early 1850s.

Population composition

Since the colonial period much of New York’s growth has resulted from immigration, both from other states and from abroad. Before the American Revolution the Dutch, English, Scots, and Germans were the primary settlers; they were followed in the first half of the 19th century by New Englanders spreading across developing parts of upstate New York and into Westchester county and northern Long Island. The influx of European immigrants came first from the northern and central parts of the Continent and later from southern countries.

The primary countries of origin are Italy, parts of the former Soviet Union (notably, Russia and Ukraine), Poland, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Many of today’s New Yorkers either are foreign-born or have parents who were born abroad, and a significant percentage of people are from a great number of other parts of the world besides Europe and Canada. Nearly half of the population is Roman Catholic, and about one-tenth is Jewish.

The nonwhite portion of the population grew significantly during the 20th century. The first large-scale influx of African Americans from the Southern states occurred during World War I, but it was small compared with the migration that occurred during and after World War II. In 1940 only 4.4 percent of the population was nonwhite, but by the beginning of the 21st century the proportion had increased to about one-sixth, concentrated in the state’s metropolitan areas and, within those areas, in the central cities. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many immigrants of African descent came from diverse areas in the Caribbean and Africa, and they represent different religions, linguistic groups, and social backgrounds.

Puerto Ricans are another group that has had a significant impact on the economy and culture of New York since World War II. Economic depression in Puerto Rico led to heavy migration to the continental United States, chiefly to New York, during the 1950s and early ’60s. Later economic recovery resulted in a considerable reduction in migration, the number of entrants being largely offset by the number of returnees to Puerto Rico. Several hundred thousand people of Puerto Rican origin now reside in the state, mostly in New York City. Dominicans and other Latinos have added to the number of Spanish-speaking immigrants.

Settlement patterns

The cultural and social distinctions between various parts of New York state have diminished. Upstate cities, for example, are nearly as varied ethnically as New York City. Certain cultural and social characteristics introduced by early settlers remain visible and, to some degree, still influence lifestyles. During the colonial period and for a number of years after the American Revolution, New England was a major source of migrants to New York, and there are traces of the New England influence, particularly in the architecture and small-town planning of the northern shore of Long Island and in northern Westchester county. The Dutch influence around Albany remains in little more than place-names and street names, plus some preserved or rehabilitated Dutch architecture. German and Scottish settlers have left their mark in the Schoharie valley and parts of the Hudson and Mohawk valleys (German), in Orange and Ulster counties, and in the Cherry Valley area (Scottish).

The distinction between upstate and downstate is normally along political lines—upstate, conservative; downstate, liberal. Political differences are matched by social differences. Downstate is divided between New York City and the suburbs, and within the city differences between the boroughs are important. Although Manhattan has many low-income residents, it is more characterized as a centre for sophisticated lifestyles and liberal politics. In the outer boroughs are relatively stable ethnic neighbourhoods and communities in the process of changing their ethnic or racial makeup; they tend to be more conservative than those in Manhattan but generally are oriented toward the Democratic Party. The suburbs are dominated by white middle- and high-income families living in detached houses, though the income spread in the suburbs has increased, and the inner suburbs are beginning to resemble the city’s outer boroughs.

The rural upstate areas must be distinguished from the upstate cities and their suburbs. Rural New York remains conservative both politically and socially. The city regions vary from relatively sophisticated Rochester, with its heavy concentration of white-collar technical and managerial employees, to the more conservative Syracuse–central New York area. Buffalo, with its emphasis on heavy industry, has a large blue-collar population.