What is considered the lower 48 states?

The United States is made up of 50 states, but 48 states – also known as the conterminous states, the lower 48, or the contiguous states – are adjoined. Two of the states – Alaska and Hawaii – are not part of the lower 48 states….Lower 48 States 2021.

What is the lower 48th?

Lower-48 meaning (US, geography) The contiguous continental states area of the United States of America, comprising 48 states in number, and the District of Columbia, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Why is Alaska called the Lower 48?

“Lower 48” means lower numerically as in the first 48 states to join the union. Alaska being the 49th state and Hawaii the 50th state. This is convenient way to denote the 48 contiguous states of the USA for various purposes such as shipping rates, weather, etc.

What is the upper 48?

The contiguous United States or officially the conterminous United States consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia on the continent of North America.

Is Puerto Rico part of the lower 48 states?

Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories are neither contiguous nor states, so their residents are generally are not allowed to enter under the contiguous U.S. restriction. There are other ways to refer to all states except Alaska and Hawaii, including the “lower 48” states or “conterminous” United States.

Where is the 48th parallel?

The 48th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 48 degrees north of the Earth’s equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. In Canada the parallel forms part of the border between Quebec and New Brunswick.

Is Lower 48 capitalized?

A. Merriam-Webster styles it “Lower 48,” and in the absence of advice in CMOS, we follow M-W.

Why are Hawaii and Alaska states?

Hawaii’s Path to Statehood Hawaii, which had a large military population after the war, was expected to lean Republican and thus balance out the senate seats being added. So, shortly after Alaska was awarded statehood, so was Hawaii, which became the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

Where is the continental US?

It includes 49 of the 50 states (48 of which are located south of Canada and north of Mexico, known as the “lower 48 states”, the other being Alaska) and the District of Columbia, which contains the federal capital, Washington, D.C. The only state which is not part of this is Hawaii (as they are islands in the Pacific …

Which state is located the farthest west?

Alaska
The westernmost state is also Alaska at Cape Wrangell on Attu Island (172 degrees 27 minutes east.) The southernmost state is Hawaii at Ka Lae (18 degrees 55 minutes north.)

What are the overseas territories of the United States?

The United States also has overseas territories ( Insular areas) with varying levels of autonomy and organization: in the Caribbean the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in the Pacific the inhabited territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, along with a number of uninhabited island territories.

What are the characteristics of the contiguous forty-eight states?

General characteristics. The contiguous forty-eight states are otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Alaska borders the Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest, the Bering Strait to the west, and the Arctic Ocean to the north,…

What are some geographic features of the United States?

Some of the territories acquired were a part of United States imperialism, or to gain access to the east. Nearly all of the United States is in the northern hemisphere — the exceptions are American Samoa and Jarvis Island, which are in the southern hemisphere. Denali, Alaska, the highest point in North America at 20,310 ft (6,190.5 m).

What is the conterminous United States?

Conterminous United States: The 48 States and the District of Columbia; that is, the United States prior to January 3, 1959 (Alaska Statehood), wholly filling an unbroken block of territory and excluding Alaska and Hawaii.