United States Encyclopedia

Hawaii, the most recent state to be admitted to the United States, is made up entirely of islands in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The point closest to the mainland of the United States is about 3,365 km (2,091 mi) southwest of San Francisco. A famous tourist spot, Hawaii is called the Aloha State; aloha is an expression of love or goodwill …

North Carolina State, occupies a median location along the Atlantic seaboard and is bounded on the south by South Carolina and Georgia, on the west by Tennessee, on the north by Virginia, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. In area, the state ranks 28th, and in population it ranks 10th. RALEIGH is the state capital. North Carolinians are …

Kansas occupying the central position in the conterminous United States, Kansas is one of the nation’s leading agricultural states. It is 15th in size among the states. Kansas is bordered by Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado. The area was first explored by Europeans with the Coronado expedition of 1541, but significant Anglo settlement did not occur until 1855. After a …

New York, the largest of the Middle Atlantic states, is bordered on the east by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Pennsylvania and New Jersey, on the west by Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the north by the province of Quebec. New York has …

Florida state, a favorite destination of millions of tourists, is a fast-developing state of the southeastern United States. Mostly a peninsula, Florida is bordered by Alabama and Georgia on the north, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Straits of Florida on the south, and the Gulf of Mexico and Alabama on the west. The first European to visit the …

Louisiana, located in the southeastern United States, Louisiana lies entirely within the Gulf Coastal Plain. It is shaped like a capital L, approximately 530 km (330 mi) at its widest, and about 450 km (280 mi) from north to south. Louisiana is bordered by Mississippi on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, Texas on the west, and …

Illinois, is a leading agricultural, manufacturing, and urban state of the north central region of the United States. It is bordered by Wisconsin on the north, Lake Michigan on the northeast, Indiana on the east and southeast, and Kentucky on the south. The Ohio River follows its southern border, and the Mississippi in the west and southwest of the state …

Kentucky — Kentucky presents a mixture of both the Midwest and the South. The northern, more urban portion of the state, particularly the Ohio Valley corridor, is characterized by manufacturing and is oriented to the Midwest. Southern and western Kentucky tends to be rural in nature, concentrating on agriculture and mining; they are generally associated with the South. The state’s …

California, a state of the far-western United States, is widely known for its great natural beauty, its highly productive farms and factories, and its innovative social and political ideas. Its many cities include LOS ANGELES, a major center of the entertainment and aerospace industries, and SAN FRANCISCO, a sophisticated financial center. Often depicted as a fabulous land of opportunity, the …

Michigan State – The state of Michigan consists of two peninsulas formed by the Great Lakes–the large mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula and the smaller Upper Peninsula – plus numerous islands located within the Great Lakes. The state has land borders with Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin; water forms part of the state boundary with Wisconsin and all of it with Illinois and …