and Hawaii's geographical relationship to the contiguous United States. Alaska in red is in the upper part of the map, while Hawaii is the islands also in red to the far left. Contiguous US is near center in pale]] The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America.[These maps show the contiguous 48 states and D.C., but not Alaska and Hawaii.
] The colloquial term Lower'48 is also used, especially in relation to Alaska.
The greatest distance on a great-circle route entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), coast-to-coast between Florida and Washington state;
The contiguous United States, if it were a country, would be fifth on the list of countries and dependencies by area, behind Russia, Canada, China, and Brazil. However, the total area of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks third or fourth. Brazil is larger than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States including Alaska, Hawaii and overseas territories. The 2020 U.S. census population of the area was 328,571,074, comprising 99.13 percent of the nation's total population, and a density of 111.04 inhabitants/sq mi (42.872/km2), compared to 93.844/sq mi (36.233/km2) for the nation as a whole.
Other terms
While
conterminous U.S. has the precise meaning of
contiguous U.S. (both adjectives meaning "sharing a common boundary"), other terms commonly used to describe the 48 contiguous states have a greater degree of ambiguity.
Continental and mainland United States
Because
Alaska is also a part of
North America, the term
continental United States also includes that state, so the term is qualified with the explicit inclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity.
On May 14, 1959, the United States Board on Geographic Names issued the following definitions based partially on the reference in the Alaska Omnibus Bill, which defined the continental United States as "the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia..." The Board reaffirmed these definitions on May 13, 1999.
[ However, even before Alaska became a state, it was properly included within the continental U.S. due to being an incorporated territory.]["In the absence of any such statement, Alaska would be regarded as a part of the continental United States." Inland Marine and Transportation Insurance (1949)]
The term mainland United States is sometimes used synonymously with continental United States, but technically refers only to those parts of states connected to the landmass of North America, thereby excluding not only Hawaii and overseas , but also islands which are part of continental states but separated from the mainland, such as the Aleutian Islands (Alaska), San Juan Islands (Washington), the Channel Islands (California), Florida Keys (Florida), the (Gulf and East Coast states), and Long Island (New York).
CONUS and OCONUS
CONUS, a technical term used by the U.S. Department of Defense, General Services Administration, NOAA/National Weather Service, and others, has been defined both as the continental United States, and as the 48 contiguous states.[ ][ "CONUS" seems to be used primarily by the American military and the Federal government and those doing business with them.] The District of Columbia is not always specifically mentioned as being part of CONUS.
OCONUS is derived from CONUS with O for outside added, thus referring to Outside of Continental United States.
The lower 48
The term lower 48 is also used to refer to the conterminous United States. The National Geographic style guide recommends the use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of lower 48 when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska.
Zone of the Interior
During World War II, the first four numbered Air Forces of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) were said to be assigned to the Zone of the Interior by the American military organizations of the time—the future states of Alaska and Hawaii, then each only organized incorporated territories of the Union, were respectively covered by the Eleventh Air Force and Seventh Air Force during the war.
Terms used in the non-contiguous U.S. jurisdictions
Residents of Alaska, Hawaii and off-shore U.S. territories have unique labels for the contiguous United States because of their own locations relative to them.
Alaska
The vast territory of Alaska became the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959. Alaska is the northwest extremity of the North American continent, separated from the U.S. West Coast by the Canadian province of British Columbia. The term Lower 48 has, for many years, been a common Alaskan equivalent for "contiguous United States";
Hawaii
The territory of Hawaii, consisting of the entire Hawaiian Islands archipelago except for Midway Atoll, became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost U.S. state, and the latest one to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean, about from North America and almost halfway between North America and Asia. In Hawaii and Insular area, for instance, the terms the Mainland or U.S. Mainland are often used to refer to the 49 states in North America.[Edles, Laura Desfor (2003). Race,' 'Ethnicity,' and 'Culture' in Hawai'i: The Myth of the 'Model Minority' State". In Loretta I. Winters and Herman L. DeBose (ed.) New Faces in a Changing America: Multiracial Identity in the 21st Century. SAGE Publications. p. 241. .]
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately southeast of Miami, Florida. Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens and are free to move to the mainland United States. The term Stateside Puerto Rican refers to residents of any U.S. state or the District of Columbia who were born in, or can trace their family ancestry to, Puerto Rico.[ Caribbean Business. 27 June 2013. Vol 41. Issue 24. Retrieved 13 December 2013.]
U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. territory located directly to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea.
American Samoa
American Samoa is a U.S. territory located in the South Pacific Ocean in Polynesia, south of the equator — it is southwest of Hawaii.
Non-contiguous areas within the contiguous United States
Apart from off-shore U.S. islands, a few continental portions of the contiguous United States are accessible by road only by traveling through Canada. Point Roberts, Washington; Elm Point, Minnesota, and two nearby points; and the Northwest Angle in Minnesota are five such places. Alburgh, Vermont, is not directly connected by land to the rest of the contiguous US, but is accessible by road via bridges from within Vermont and from New York, and nearby Province Point is accessible over land only from Canada, though no roads go there.
List of contiguous U.S. states
The 48 contiguous states are:
In addition, the District of Columbia is within the contiguous United States.
See also
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Extreme points of the United States
-
Mainland
-
Metropolitan France, nicknamed "l'Hexagone", an analogous concept in France
Notes
External links
