United States Encyclopedia

Virginia State, often regarded as the gateway to the South, occupies the middle position on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Named for Elizabeth I, England’s “Virgin Queen”, the state is also known as the Old Dominion–in recognition of the decision of Charles II to make the colony a fourth dominion of his realm, after England, Scotland, and Ireland–and …

Oregon State, one of the states of the northwest, lies along the Pacific Ocean coast. It is bordered by the state of Washington on the north, Idaho on the east, and Nevada and California on the south. Oregon State ranks 9th in area among the U.S. states with 254,819 sq km (98,386 sq mi), and 29th in population with 2,842,321 …

Wyoming State, one of the Mountain States of the western United States, is the tenth largest state in area but the least populated state in the nation. It extends 443 km (275 mi) from north to south and 587 km (365 mi) from east to west and includes within its four straight borders an area of 253,349 sq km (97,818 …

West Virginia State, the only landlocked South Atlantic state, is bordered by Pennsylvania on the north, Maryland and Virginia on the east, and Kentucky and Ohio on the west. Very irregular in shape, with two panhandles–a northern one jutting up between Pennsylvania and Ohio and an eastern one squeezed by Maryland and Virginia–West Virginia has about five-sixths of its 1,880-km …

Massachusetts State is a small state in the northeastern United States that has made contributions to the nation far greater than its size might suggest. The state, roughly rectangular in shape, is the seventh smallest in area. It lies at the center of New England, with Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to the north and Rhode Island and Connecticut to …

Wisconsin State is located in the northern interior of the United States in the upper Midwest. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the south by Illinois, on the west by Iowa and Minnesota, and on the east by Lake Michigan. Wisconsin extends about 475 km (295 mi) east to west …

Texas State, stretching 1,244 km (773 mi) from east to west and 1,289 km (801 mi) from north to south, Texas, the Lone Star State, occupies almost 7.5% of the nation’s total land area–a region as large as all of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois combined. With its 16,986,510 inhabitants (1990 resident census), Texas is the third …

Utah State, centrally located in the Rocky Mountain region, midway between Canada and Mexico, Utah State is bordered by Wyoming on the northeast, Colorado on the east, Arizona on the south, Nevada on the west, and Idaho on the north. Utah is the 11th largest state and the 3d highest, with an average elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). Except …

North Dakota State, located at the center of the North American continent, is bounded by Montana on the west, South Dakota on the south, Minnesota on the east, and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan on the north. North Dakota encompasses 183,123 sq km (70,704 sq mi), of which 2% is surface water. The state ranks 19th in area …

Tennessee State, a southeastern state, stretches about 770 km (480 mi) from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River in the west. It is bounded by Kentucky and Virginia on the north; North Carolina on the east; Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi on the south; and Arkansas and Missouri on the west. Tennessee State was named for the …