From the 13 original British colonies, the
United States has grown into 50 states and one federal district that
together span more than 3.5 million square miles.
Their natural
environments, populations and other characteristics vary widely, but
they all share sovereignty with the federal government and have their
own constitution, legislature, judiciary, executive branch and capital
city.
Alabama (1819)
Admitted in 1819 as the 22nd state, Alabama forms a roughly rectangular shape on the map, elongated in a north-south direction. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, and Mississippi to the west. The Florida panhandle blocks Alabama's access to the Gulf of Mexico except in Alabama's southwestern corner, where Mobile Bay is located. Montgomery is the state capital.
Alaska (1959)
Admitted to the union as the 49th state in 1959, Alaska lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent and is the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north; Canada's Yukon territory and British Columbia province to the east; the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south; the Bering Strait and the Bering Sea to the west; and the Chukchi Sea to the northwest. The capital is Juneau.
Arizona (1912)
Arizona is the sixth largest state in the country in terms of area. Its population has always been predominantly urban, particularly since the mid-20th century, when urban and suburban areas began growing rapidly at the expense of the countryside. Some scholars believe that the state's name comes from a Basque phrase meaning “place of oaks,” while others attribute it to a Tohono O'odham (Papago) Indian phrase meaning “place of the young (or little) spring.” Arizona achieved statehood on Feb. 14, 1912, the last of the 48 coterminous United States to be admitted to the Union.
Arkansas (1836)
Arkansas ranks 27th among the 50 states in area, but, except for Louisiana and Hawaii, it is the smallest state west of the Mississippi River. Its neighbors are Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the west. The name Arkansas was used by the early French explorers to refer to the Quapaw people—a prominent indigenous group in the area—and to the river along which they settled. The term was likely a corruption of akansea, the word applied to the Quapaw by another local indigenous community, the Illinois. Little Rock, the state capital, is located in the central part of the state.
California (1850)
California is bounded by the U.S. state of Oregon to the north, by the states of Nevada and Arizona to the east, by the Mexican state of Baja California to the south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It was admitted as the 31st state of the Union on Sept. 9, 1850, and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. The fluid nature of the state's social, economic, and political life has for centuries made California a laboratory for testing new modes of living.
Colorado (1876)
Colorado is classified as one of the Mountain states, although only about half of its area lies in the Rocky Mountains. It borders Wyoming and Nebraska to the north, Nebraska and Kansas to the east, Oklahoma and New Mexico to the south, and Utah to the west. Colorado was admitted to the Union on Aug. 1, 1876, as the 38th state. The capital is Denver.
Connecticut (1788)
One of the original 13 states and one of the six New England states, Connecticut is located in the northeastern corner of the country. In area it is the third smallest U.S. state, but it ranks among the most densely populated. Lying in the midst of the great urban-industrial complex along the Atlantic coast, it borders Massachusetts to the north, Rhode Island to the east, Long Island Sound (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) to the south, and New York to the west. Hartford, in the north-central part of the state, is the capital. The state is roughly rectangular in shape, with a panhandle of Fairfield county extending to the southwest on the New York border. The state's greatest east-west length is about 110 miles (180 km), and its maximum north-south extent is about 70 miles (110 km). Connecticut takes its name from an Algonquian word meaning “land on the long tidal river.” “Nutmeg State,” “Constitution State,” and “Land of Steady Habits” are all sobriquets that have been applied to Connecticut.
Delaware (1787)
The first of the original 13 states to ratify the federal Constitution, Delaware occupies a small niche in the Boston–Washington, D.C., urban corridor along the Middle Atlantic seaboard. It is the second smallest state in the country and one of the most densely populated. The state is organized into three counties—from north to south, New Castle, Kent, and Sussex—all established by 1682. Its population, like its industry, is concentrated in the north, around Wilmington, where the major coastal highways and railways pass through from Pennsylvania and New Jersey on the north and east into Maryland on the south and west. The rest of the state comprises the northeastern corner of the Delmarva Peninsula, which Delaware shares with Maryland and Virginia (hence its name). Most state government operations are located in Dover, the capital.
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The city is home to all three branches of the federal government, as well as the White House, the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building. More than 500,000 people live in Washington, D.C.
Florida (1845)
Admitted as the 27th state in 1845, Florida is the most populous of the Southern states. The capital is Tallahassee, located in the northwestern panhandle. Geographic location has been the key factor in Florida's long and colorful development, and it helps explain the striking contemporary character of the state.
Georgia (1788)
The largest of the U.S. states east of the Mississippi River and by many years the youngest of the 13 former English colonies, Georgia was founded in 1732, at which time its boundaries were even larger—including much of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi. Its landscape presents numerous contrasts, with more soil types than any other state as it sweeps from the Appalachian Mountains in the north (on the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina) to the marshes of the Atlantic coast on the southeast and the Okefenokee Swamp (which it shares with Florida) on the south. The Savannah and Chattahoochee rivers form much of Georgia's eastern and western boundaries with South Carolina and Alabama, respectively. The capital is Atlanta.
Hawaii (1959)
Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai‘i) became the 50th U.S. state on Aug. 21, 1959. Hawaii is a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The islands lie 2,397 miles (3,857 km) from San Francisco, Calif., to the east and 5,293 miles (8,516 km) from Manila, in the Philippines, to the west. The capital is Honolulu, located on the island of Oahu.
Idaho (1890)
Idaho's area is twice that of the six New England states combined. Its boundaries—with the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north and the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming to the east, Utah and Nevada to the south, and Oregon and Washington to the west—are both historical and geographic in derivation. The boundary with British Columbia follows the 49th parallel of north latitude, while the border with Utah and Nevada follows the 42nd parallel; both lines were established by treaty—the northern between the United States and Britain in 1846 and the southern between the United States and Spain in 1819. The border with Montana follows the Continental Divide, while the border with Wyoming incorporates a small slice of Yellowstone National Park. Idaho's border with Oregon and Washington is a 480-mile (770-km) straight stretch except between the Idaho cities of Weiser and Lewiston, where Hells Canyon of the Snake River serves as a natural boundary. Boise is the state capital.
Illinois (1818)
Illinois stretches southward 385 miles (620 km) from the Wisconsin border in the north to Cairo in the south. In addition to Wisconsin, the state borders Lake Michigan to the northeast, Indiana to the east, Kentucky to the southeast, Missouri to the west, and Iowa to the northwest. Illinois was named for the Illinois Indians. The capital is Springfield, in the west-central part of the state.
Indiana (1816)
Indiana sits, as its motto claims, at “the crossroads of America.” It borders Lake Michigan and the state of Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, Kentucky to the south, and Illinois to the west, making it an integral part of the American Midwest. Except for Hawaii, Indiana is the smallest state west of the Appalachian Mountains. With a name that is generally thought to mean “land of the Indians,” Indiana was admitted on Dec. 11, 1816, as the 19th state of the union. Its capital has been at Indianapolis since 1825.
Iowa (1846)
Iowa was admitted to the union as the 29th state on Dec. 28, 1846. As a Midwestern state, Iowa forms a bridge between the forests of the east and the grasslands of the high prairie plains to the west. Its gently rolling landscape rises slowly as it extends westward from the Mississippi River, which forms its entire eastern border. The Missouri River and its tributary, the Big Sioux, form the western border, making Iowa the only U.S. state that has two parallel rivers defining its borders. Iowa is bounded by the states of Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, and Nebraska and South Dakota to the west. Des Moines, in the south-central part of the state, is the capital. The state name is derived from the Iowa Native American people who once inhabited the area.
Kansas (1861)
Kansas is bounded by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south and Colorado to the west. Lying amid the westward-rising landscape of the Great Plains of the North American continent, Kansas became the 34th state on Jan. 29, 1861. In that year the capital was located in Topeka by popular election, outpolling nearby Lawrence by some 2,700 votes. The state's name is derived from that of the Kansa, or Kaw, whose name comes from a Siouan-language phrase meaning “people of the south wind”.
Kentucky (1792)
Rivers define Kentucky's boundaries except on the south, where it shares a border with Tennessee along a nearly straight line of about 425 miles (685 km), and on the southeast, where it shares an irregular, mountainous border with Virginia. Flowing generally northwestward, the Tug and Big Sandy rivers separate Kentucky from West Virginia on the east and northeast. On the north, Kentucky's boundary follows the Ohio River to the Mississippi, meeting the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois en route. The Mississippi River then demarcates Kentucky's short southwestern border with Missouri. The capital, Frankfort, lies between the two major cities— Louisville, which is on the Ohio River, and Lexington.
Louisiana (1812)
Louisiana is delineated from its neighbors—Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, and Texas to the west—by both natural and man-made boundaries. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the south. The area of Louisiana includes more than 3,000 square miles (7,770 square km) of inland waters. The capital is Baton Rouge.
Maine (1820)
The largest of the six New England states in area, Maine lies at the northeastern corner of the country. Its area, including 2,270 square miles (5,880 square km) of inland water, represents nearly half of the total area of New England. Maine is bounded to the northwest and northeast by the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, respectively, and to the west by New Hampshire. The famed rocky coastline of the state is angled from southwest to northeast along the Atlantic Ocean. Maine was admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state; its capital is Augusta. The Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabiting the region called it “Land of the Frozen Ground,” and there are two theories of the derivation of the state's English name: that it was named for the former French province of Maine and that it was so named for being the “mainland,” as opposed to the coastal islands.
Maryland (1788)
One of the original 13 states, Maryland lies at the center of the Eastern Seaboard, amid the great commercial and population complex that stretches from Maine to Virginia. Its small size belies the great diversity of its landscapes and of the ways of life that they foster, from the low-lying and water-oriented Eastern Shore and Chesapeake Bay area, through the metropolitan hurly-burly of Baltimore, its largest city, to the forested Appalachian foothills and mountains of its western reaches.
Massachusetts (1788)
One of the original 13 states and one of the six New England states lying in the northeastern corner of the country, Massachusetts (officially called a commonwealth) is bounded to the north by Vermont and New Hampshire, to the east and southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by Rhode Island and Connecticut, and to the west by New York. It is the sixth smallest of the U.S. states in area. The capital is Boston. English explorer and colonist John Smith named the state for the Massachuset tribe, whose name meant “near the great hill”—believed to refer to Blue Hill, which rises south of Boston in an otherwise flat area. Massachusetts's residents represent an amalgamation of the prototypical Yankee spirit of an earlier America and the energies of the later immigrants who flocked to its cities in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Michigan (1837)
Although by the size of its land Michigan ranks only 23rd of the 50 states, the inclusion of the Great Lakes waters over which it has jurisdiction increases its area considerably, placing it 10th. The capital is Lansing, in south-central Michigan. The state's name is derived from michi-gama, an Ojibwa (Chippewa) word meaning "large lake".
Minnesota (1858)
Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union on May 11, 1858. A small extension of the northern boundary makes Minnesota the most northerly of the 48 conterminous U.S. states. (This peculiar protrusion is the result of a boundary agreement with Great Britain before the area had been carefully surveyed.) Minnesota is one of the north-central states. It is bounded by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north, by Lake Superior and the state of Wisconsin to the east, and by the states of Iowa to the south and South Dakota and North Dakota to the west.
Mississippi (1817)
Mississippi's name derives from a Native American word meaning “great waters” or “father of waters.” It became the 20th state of the Union in 1817. Jackson is the state capital.
Missouri (1821)
To the north of Missouri lies Iowa; across the Mississippi River to the east, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; to the south, Arkansas; and to the west, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. With the exception of Tennessee, Missouri has more neighboring states than any other U.S. state. Bisecting the state is the Missouri River, flowing from Kansas City in the west, through the state's capital, Jefferson City, in the center, to just above St. Louis in the east, where it joins the Mississippi. Missouri was the name of a group of indigenous people who lived in the area at the time of European settlement; the French named the river after the native community, and the river, in turn, gave its name to the state.
Montana (1889)
Only three states— Alaska, Texas, and California—have an area larger than Montana's, and only two states—Alaska and Wyoming—have a lower population density. Montana borders the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to the north and the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and Idaho to the west. Although its name is derived from the Spanish montaña (“mountain” or “mountainous region”), Montana has an average elevation of only 3,400 feet (1,040 metres), the lowest among the Mountain states. The Rocky Mountains sweep down from British Columbia, trending northwest-southeast into western Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. The eastern portion of the state, however, is a gently rolling landscape, with millions of grazing cattle and sheep, and with only scattered evidence of human habitation. It forms a part of the northern Great Plains, shared with Alberta, Saskatchewan, North and South Dakota, and northeastern Wyoming. Helena is the capital.
Nebraska (1867)
Nebraska was admitted to the Union as the 37th state on March 1, 1867. Nebraska is bounded by the state of South Dakota to the north, with the Missouri River making up about one-fourth of that boundary and the whole of Nebraska's boundaries with the states of Iowa and Missouri to the east. The boundary with Kansas to the south was established when the two territories were created by the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. In the southwestern part of the state, the boundary with Colorado forms a right angle (south and west), which creates Nebraska's panhandle, to the west of which is the boundary with Wyoming. Lincoln, in the southeastern part of the state, is the capital.
Nevada (1864)
Nevada borders Oregon and Idaho to the north, Utah to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and California to the west. It is the seventh largest of the 50 states. It also, however, is one of the most sparsely settled. Carson City, in the western part of the state, is the capital. Nevada became the 36th state of the Union on Oct. 31, 1864.
New Hampshire (1788)
One of the 13 original U.S. states, New Hampshire is located in New England at the extreme northeastern corner of the country. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Quebec, to the east by Maine and a 16-mile (25-km) stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by Massachusetts, and to the west by Vermont. The capital is Concord, located in the south-central part of the state.
New Jersey (1787)
One of the original 13 states, New Jersey is bounded by New York to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, and Delaware and Pennsylvania to the west. The state was named for the island of Jersey in the English Channel. The capital is Trenton.
New Mexico (1912)
New Mexico became the 47th state of the Union in 1912. New Mexico is the fifth largest U.S. state and is bounded by Colorado to the north, Oklahoma and Texas to the east, Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south, and Arizona (which was part of the Territory of New Mexico from 1850 to 1863) to the west. At its northwestern corner New Mexico joins Arizona, Utah, and Colorado in the only four-way meeting of states in the United States. The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe.
New York (1788)
A constituent state of the United States of America, New York is one of the 13 original colonies. It is bounded to the west and north by Lake Erie, the Canadian province of Ontario, Lake Ontario, and the Canadian province of Quebec; to the east by the New England states of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean and New Jersey; and to the south by Pennsylvania. The capital is Albany.
North Carolina (1789)
One of the 13 original states, North Carolina lies on the Atlantic coast midway between New York and Florida and is bounded to the north by Virginia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by South Carolina and Georgia, and to the west by Tennessee. The terrain of North Carolina is among the wettest in the country, with vast marshlands in the coastal tidewater area and numerous lakes in the Piedmont and Appalachian regions. These three physical regions account for much of the diversity in lifestyles and cultures within the state's boundaries. The capital is Raleigh.
North Dakota (1889)
North Dakota was admitted to the Union as the 39th state on Nov. 2, 1889. A north-central state, it is bounded by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. The North Dakota town of Rugby is considered to be the geographic center of the North American continent. Bismarck, located in the center of the state, is the capital.
Ohio (1803)
Ohio is a constituent state of the United States of America, on the northeastern edge of the Midwest region. Lake Erie lies on the north, Pennsylvania on the east, West Virginia and Kentucky on the southeast and south, Indiana on the west, and Michigan on the northwest. Ohio ranks only 35th in size among the 50 states, and it is one of the smallest states west of the Appalachian Mountains. The state ranks near the top, however, in population. Ohio's capital, after being located in Chillicothe and Zanesville during the early years of statehood, was finally established in newly founded and centrally located Columbus in 1816. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, which in turn traces its name to an Iroquoian word meaning “great water”.
Oklahoma (1907)
Oklahoma borders Colorado and Kansas to the north, Missouri and Arkansas to the east, Texas to the south and west, and New Mexico to the west of its Panhandle region. In its land and its people, Oklahoma is a state of contrast and of the unexpected. The terrain varies from the rolling, timbered hills of the east to the treeless high plains that extend from the Panhandle region into Texas and New Mexico. Oklahoma's east-central region is dominated by the lowlands of the Arkansas River, sweeping in from Colorado and Kansas, and by the Red River, which forms nearly all of its southern border with Texas. The capital is Oklahoma City, near the center of the state.
Oregon (1859)
Oregon is bounded to the north by Washington state, from which it receives the waters of the Columbia River; to the east by Idaho, more than half the border with which is formed by the winding Snake River and Hells Canyon; to the south by Nevada and California, with which Oregon shares its mountain and desert systems; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean, which produces the moderate climate of Oregon's western lands. The capital is Salem, in the northwestern part of the state.
Pennsylvania (1787)
One of the original 13 American colonies, Pennsylvania is approximately rectangular in shape and stretches about 350 miles (560 km) from east to west and 150 miles (240 km) from north to south. It is bounded to the north by Lake Erie and New York state; to the east by New York and New Jersey; to the south by Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia; and to the west by the panhandle of West Virginia and by Ohio. Harrisburg, nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, is the capital.
Rhode Island (1790)
One of the original 13 states and one of the six New England states. Rhode Island is bounded to the north and east by Massachusetts, to the south by Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Connecticut. It is the smallest state in the Union—only about 48 miles (77 km) long and 37 miles (60 km) wide—but is, however, one of the most densely populated states. The extreme compactness of area, proportionally large population, and economic activity have tied it closely to its neighboring states. In addition, Rhode Island's intimate connection to the sea—including more than 400 miles (640 km) of coastline—is the basis of its nickname, the Ocean State. The capital is Providence.
South Carolina (1788)
One of the 13 original colonies, South Carolina lies on the southern Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Shaped like an inverted triangle with an east-west base of 285 miles (459 km) and a north-south extent of about 225 miles (360 km), the state is bounded on the north by North Carolina, on the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the southwest by Georgia. Columbia, located in the center of the state, is the capital and largest city.
South Dakota (1889)
South Dakota became the 40th state of the Union on Nov. 2, 1889. The state has two unique physical features: It contains the geographic center of the United States, which is located just north of Belle Fourche, and it has its own continental divide, as a result of which Lake Traverse, in the southeastern corner of the state, flows northward to Hudson Bay, and Big Stone Lake, on the Minnesota border, flows southward to the Gulf of Mexico. South Dakota is bordered by North Dakota to the north, Minnesota and Iowa to the east, Nebraska to the south, and Wyoming and Montana to the west. The state is split by the upper Missouri River valley into eastern and western regions. Pierre, in central South Dakota, is one of the country's smallest state capitals.
Tennessee (1796)
Tennessee is located in the upper South of the eastern United States and became the 16th state of the Union in 1796. The geography of Tennessee is unique. Its extreme breadth of 432 miles (695 km) stretches from the Appalachian Mountain boundary with North Carolina in the east to the Mississippi River borders with Missouri and Arkansas in the west; its narrow width, only 112 miles (180 km), separates its northern neighbours, Kentucky and Virginia, from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, to the south. Nashville is the capital and Memphis the largest city.
Texas (1845)
Texas became the 28th state of the Union in 1845. It occupies the south-central segment of the country and is the largest state in area except for Alaska. The state extends nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south and about the same distance from east to west.
Utah (1896)
Mountains, high plateaus, and deserts form most of Utah's landscape. The capital, Salt Lake City, is located in the north-central region of the state. The state lies in the heart of the West and is bounded by Idaho to the north, Wyoming to the northeast, Colorado to the east, Arizona to the south, and Nevada to the west. At Four Corners, in the southeast, Utah meets Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona at right angles, the only such meeting of states in the country. Utah became the 45th member of the Union on Jan. 4, 1896.
Vermont (1791)
One of the six New England states lying in the northeastern corner of the country, Vermont was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791, as the 14th state. It is sparsely populated, and its capital, Montpelier, is one of the least-populous U.S. state capitals. Vermont is bordered to the north by Quebec, Can., to the east by New Hampshire, to the south by Massachusetts, and to the west by New York. From the Canadian to the Massachusetts border, the Connecticut River separates Vermont from New Hampshire. The river, from the mean low-water line on the western bank, is entirely within New Hampshire's borders.
Virginia (1788)
One of the original 13 colonies, Virginia is bordered by Maryland to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, Kentucky to the west, and West Virginia to the northwest. The state capital is Richmond.
Washington (1889)
Lying at the northwestern corner of the 48 coterminous states, Washington is bounded by the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north, the U.S. states of Idaho to the east and Oregon to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The capital is Olympia, located at the southern end of Puget Sound in the western part of the state. The state's coastal location and excellent harbours give it a leading role in trade with Alaska, Canada, and countries of the Pacific Rim. Washington cities have sister cities in several countries, and their professional and trade associations commonly include Canadian members.
West Virginia (1863)
Admitted to the union as the 35th state in 1863, West Virginia is a relatively small state. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland and Virginia to the east, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. The state capital is Charleston.
Wisconsin (1848)
Wisconsin was admitted to the Union as the 30th state on May 29, 1848. One of the north-central states, it is bounded by the western portion of Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the north and by Lake Michigan to the east. The state of Illinois lies to the south, and Minnesota and Iowa lie to the west and southwest, respectively. The name Wisconsin is an Anglicized version of a French rendering of an Algonquin name, Meskousing, said to mean “this stream of red stone,” referring to the Wisconsin River. Madison, in south-central Wisconsin, is the state capital.
Wyoming (1890)
Wyoming became the 44th state of the Union on July 10, 1890. It is the ninth largest U.S. state. It shares boundaries with six other Great Plains and Mountain states: Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Colorado to the south, Utah to the southwest, and Idaho to the west. Cheyenne, the capital, is located in the southeastern corner of the state.
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