Rhode Island State Guide

Situated between Massachusetts and Connecticut, Rhode Island is the smallest state in the U.S. The state is comprised of Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay, along with a number of counties on the mainland (originally known as the Providence Plantations). The origin of Rhode Island's name is something of a mystery. Some say it stems from the Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, who first came to the island in 1524 and described it as "about the size of the Island of Rhodes." Another popular theory is that Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who first charted the land in 1614, named it "Roodt Eylandt," or "Red Island," because of the red clay that lined the shore.