Continental United States
The Continental United States is the area of the United States of America comprised of the 48 states that are south of Canada and north of Mexico (known as the "lower 48 states"), the US capital of Washington, D.C.. The Continental United States does not include the state of Hawaii on a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, the state of Alaska north of Canada, or any other territories under the control of the United States. Some references erroneously mistake the Continental United States for the Contiguous United States (which consists simply of the lower 48 states).[1][2][3]
Alaska is part of the North American Continent, meaning it is attached via Canada. However, Alaska is not part of the contiguous continent, because it is not attached directly to the lower 48 states.
[change] Citations
- ↑ continental, adj., "being the part of the United States on the North American continent; also : being the part of the United States comprising the lower 48 states"
Merriam-Webster, Inc. (2003). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.. ISBN 0877798095. - ↑ Random House (1991). Random House Webster's College Dictionary. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679401105.
- ↑ "The area … is continental United States, by which is meant that part of the United States lying on the continent of North America south of the Canadian boundary. It thus excludes Alaska and the recent insular accessions of Hawaii, …" Abstract of the 1900 Census (1902), p.xi
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