• The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, founding the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

• The Boston Tea Party, a protest against British taxes, took place in Boston Harbor in 1773.

• Cape Cod, the part of Massachusetts that sticks into the ocean like an arm, was named after codfish. There are still lots of fish there near a reef called George's Bank — the whales feed on them, and that's why the whale-watching boats go out to this historic fishing place.

Many events of the American Revolution — the war that turned a bunch of English colonies into an independent country — happened in Massachusetts. The Freedom Trail in Boston is a 2-mile walking tour of some of the important places in early American history. Many buildings, cemeteries, and even an old battleship are still here.

Massachusetts is a coastal state. You can go on a whale watch from the cool New England Aquarium, or take a boat all the way out to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. On the way through the harbor, you see some small islands in one direction — and the skyline of Boston in the other.

Massachusetts is the thirteenth largest state in population, with just under 6.2 million people. Boston is the capital and the most populous city, with about 560,000 people.