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- Blank New York map
NY · 62 counties · 54,555 sq mi · print landscape · Northeast · Middle Atlantic
Blank New York map
A blank outline of New York State, from Lake Erie to the tip of Long Island. Sixty-two county borders are hidden; the shape alone includes two Great Lakes, a big river and an island.
What the outline shows
The map draws the outer boundary of New York. The north edge is water: Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, then a straight line against Quebec. The east edge is a straight line against Vermont and Lake Champlain, then straight lines against Massachusetts and Connecticut, then the Hudson and the tangle of waterways around New York City. Long Island extends about 120 miles east from the city and is drawn in full. The south edge is a straight line against Pennsylvania along the 42nd parallel, then the Delaware River. The west edge is the Pennsylvania line, a short straight segment to Lake Erie. Nothing inside is drawn. Press Capital to mark Albany on the Hudson, about 135 miles north of New York City.
Portrait or landscape
New York is about 330 miles east to west from the Pennsylvania corner on Lake Erie to the tip of Long Island, and about 310 miles north to south from the Canadian border to Staten Island. The state is only slightly wider than tall, but Long Island stretches out to the southeast, and landscape keeps the island at a usable size. For upstate only, zoom north of the Catskills; that area is wider than tall and also suits landscape. For Long Island and the city alone, zoom and print landscape as well, since the island is long and thin.
Five classroom exercises
- Draw the Hudson River from the Adirondacks south past Albany to New York Harbor, and the Mohawk River joining it from the west near Albany.
- Label Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River between them and Niagara Falls on that river.
- Draw the Finger Lakes as a set of parallel north–south lines in the west-central part of the state, and mark Rochester and Syracuse near them.
- Shade the Adirondack Mountains in the north and the Catskills southwest of Albany, then mark Lake Champlain along the Vermont line.
- Place New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse and Albany; note that the capital and the largest city are both on the Hudson.
How to recognise the New York outline
- A wide, irregular shape with a flat bottom edge and a curved top edge along the Great Lakes.
- A long island, Long Island, sticking out from the bottom right corner toward the east.
- A square-cornered eastern side against New England, with Lake Champlain along its upper part.
- A pointed western end reaching to Lake Erie between Pennsylvania and Ontario.
Answer key and related maps
- New York map — the labeled version with capital, cities and borders; use it as the answer key.
- Printable New York map — the same outline with cities, county lines and the capital printed on.
- New York county map — all 62 counties with their seats.
- Albany — the capital, on the Hudson.
- Neighbours: Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
- Hudson River, Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountains.
- All blank state maps and the printable US maps index.