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Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital is Hartford, and the other major cities include New Haven, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Waterbury, Torrington and Bridgeport. In all, there are a total of 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. There is an ongoing civic pride and economic competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back to the days when the two cities shared the state's capital, and even back to when New Haven and Hartford were two separate colonies. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state. Once the location of a stone tower, currently a stone plaque alongside the Appalachian Trail identifies the point as "the highest ground in Connecticut, 2354 feet above the sea"; however, this is wrong on both counts. The current estimate of the height of the summit is only 2,316 feet 706 m); and although it is the highest peak in Connecticut, it is not actually the highest point in the state. That distinction belongs to an anonymous location just east of the point where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42° 3' N; 73° 29' W), on the southern slope of 2,453 foot (747 m) high Mount Frissell, whose peak lies 740 feet (225 m) north in Massachusetts. Only a green metal stake set into a rock ledge marks this, the 2,372 foot (723 m) high top of Connecticut. According to Peakbagger.com, this makes Connecticut the only state whose highest point is not also its highest peak. The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing into Long Island Sound, Connecticut's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
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