What is the width of the United States? – The continental United States is roughly 2,800 miles long from its easternmost point, West Quoddy Head in Maine, to its westernmost point, Point Arena in California. The state of Hawaii is excluded from the calculation because it is located in the Pacific Ocean, nearly 2,300 miles from the continental United States’ west coast. Only Russia, Canada, and China have broader borders than the rest of the world.
Angle, Minnesota, on the Canadian border, is the northernmost point of the continental United States. East Cape, Florida, is the southernmost point and is part of Everglades National Park.
The Northern and Southern Extremes
States by population size
The United States is divided into 50 states and the District of Columbia, or Washington, D.C. Rhode Island, the smallest state in the New England region, is located on the East Coast. It is 1,545 square miles in size. Alaska is the largest state in the United States, covering 663,268 square miles. However, Alaska is not connected to the rest of the United States. Texas is the largest state in the contiguous United States, with a total length of 268,597 miles.
Cities, Largest and Smallest
Thousands of cities can be found across the 50 states of the United States. Sitka (2,870 square miles), Juneau (2,702 square miles), Wrangell (2,541 square miles), and Anchorage (2,541 square miles) are the four largest cities in Alaska by land area (1,704 square miles). With 747 square miles, Jacksonville, Florida is the fifth-largest city. With a land area of 0.09 square miles, Lost Springs, Wyoming is thought to be the smallest city in the country.
Points of Maximum and Minimum
Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska is home to the United States’ highest peak in terms of elevation. Denali Mountain has a summit elevation of 20,308 feet. Eastern California has the lowest point in the United States. Badwater Basin is located within Death Valley National Park. -282 feet is the elevation.
The United States’ Total Area
The United States is more than twice the size of the European Union, with a total area of 3,794,083 square miles. There are 3,537,436 square miles of land and 181,274 square miles of lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water included in this total. It is the world’s third-largest country, behind Russia and Canada.
Coastline of the United States
Looking at the US shoreline is another method to get a sense of its immensity. The country has 95,471 miles of coastline, encompassing shoreline, including Alaska and Hawaii. With 33,904 miles of shoreline, Alaska is the longest, followed by Florida with 8,436 miles. The states with the top five largest coastlines are Louisiana, Maine, and California.
United States Borders
To the north, the continental United States shares a 5,525-mile border with Canada. The United States and Mexico share a 1,954-mile border to the south. The east and west coasts of the country have no international borders. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west is the Pacific Ocean.