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View of Downtown Los Angeles from Hollywood Hills.
Image: Daniel Schludi
The United States is a federal nation of 50 states that covers the central part of North America. The mainland of the United States is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. The country borders Canada in the north and has a 3,155 km long border to Mexico in the south. The United States shares maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, and Russia (in Alaska).
The United States covers an area of 9,833,516 km², making it the third-largest country in the world. Compared, it is more than twice the size of the European Union or somewhat more than half the size of Russia.
The most populous country in America is home to more than 330 million people (in 2020). The capital city is Washington, D.C.; its largest city is New York. Spoken languages are English 80%, and Spanish 13%.
The map shows the Contiguous United States with 48 U.S. states, the state capitals, major cities, interstate highways, railroads, and the location of the busiest US airports.
Map of the United States
Map of the Contiguous United States
The map shows the contiguous USA (Lower 48) and bordering countries with international boundaries, the national capital Washington D.C., US states, US state borders, state capitals, major cities, major rivers, interstate highways, railroads (Amtrak train routes), and major airports.
You are free to use the above map for educational and similar purposes; if you publish it online or in print, you need to credit One World - Nations Online Project as the source.
More about the United States
Geography
Topographic map of the Contiguous United States.
The US sits on the North American Plate, a tectonic plate that borders the Pacific Plate in the west.
Besides many other definitions, generally, the USA can be divided into five major geographical areas:
Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest. [1]
Northeast
The Northeast borders Canada in the north and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The region offers a rugged interior with several rivers; its landscape is shaped by the valleys and mountains of the Appalachians. Half of Lake Ontario and a portion of Lake Erie belong to the northeast region. Within the Northeast are the New England states and the land areas of New York and Pennsylvania. It is the most economically developed, densely populated, and culturally diverse region of the country.
Southwest
Although definitions of the region's boundaries vary, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are the core states of the United States Southwest. The region's main features are the Mojave, the Sonoran, and the Chihuahuan Deserts.
The Colorado Plateau in the northwest of the area is a high-altitude desert region with scattered forests along the Colorado River and noted for its scenery.
West
Nine states are considered to be part of the western USA. The Rocky Mountains dominate the Mountain states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. The Pacific states are Washington, Oregon, and California; they all feature a coastline at the Pacific Ocean. Major mountain ranges are the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, and the Pacific Coast Ranges.
Southeast
The Southeast, aka the American Southeast, refers to the eastern part of the southern United States and includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Central Lowland covers much of Arkansas and Louisiana. The low-lying land adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean is known as the Coastal Plains. It characterizes the topography of the coastal states in the Southeast region. The southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains brings a little variety to the landscape of Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Midwest
The Midwest is the northern central part of the United States. A dozen states belong to the Midwest, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Mount Shasta is the highest peak (4,322 m) in the Cascade Range in California.
Image: wanderingnome
Mountains
The landscape of the western part of North America features a number of mountain ranges. The two major mountain chains in Alaska are the Brooks Range and the Alaska Range. On the US mainland, most of the mountains are in the west, such as the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada. Between the Great Plains and the Coastal Plains are the folded and superimposed rock complexes of the Appalachian Mountains, which extend over a length of 2,400 km from the Long Range Mountains on the west coast of the Canadian island of Newfoundland to the north of the US state of Alabama. The Appalachian Mountains are what is left of the millions of years old, Alpine size mountain ranges after the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age. The Appalachian chain's highest peak is Mount Mitchell (2,037 m) in the US state of North Carolina.
The ten highest mountains in the US are all in Alaska, the highest of which is Mount Denali (6,190 m). The highest peaks of the contiguous United States are in the western part of the country; the highest is Mount Whitney (4,421 m) in California. Other prominent US mountains are: Mount Elbert (4,401 m) in Colorado, Mount Rainier (4,392 m) in Washington state, Mount Shasta (4,322 m) in California, Grand Teton (4,199 m) to the south of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and Mount Mitchell (2,037 m), which is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest mountain in the eastern US.
A Hunter Marine towboat, near Vicksburg Bridge in Mississippi, pushing 30 loaded barges on the Lower Mississippi River.
Image: Thomas Robertson
Rivers
Rivers were important transport routes in the New World; they were the key to colonizing the United States. And even today, the country's river systems are still vital shipping routes for the transportation of coal, agricultural, and manufactured goods. The nation's inland waterways network consists of the great navigable rivers and their connecting tributaries, several major canals, locks, and floodgate systems.
Major rivers in the United States.
The 3,781 km long Mississippi River rises in Minnesota near the Canadian border and flows south to a delta in Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico.
With a length of more than 4,000 km (including the Red Rock River), the Missouri is one of the most important watercourses in the central United States and the country's longest river. It is a major tributary of the Mississippi.
The source of the Yukon is in the northwest corner of British Columbia in the Canadian subarctic. The approximately 3,200 km long river flows westwards through central Alaska and ends in a huge river delta in southwest Alaska where the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers empty into the Bering Sea.
The 3,051 km long Rio Grande (span. for Great River) has its source in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The river forms the border between Texas and Mexico.
The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River in New-Mexico.
Image: Bureau of Land Management
The Colorado River (span. for red-colored) is 2,333 km long; it is the largest and most important river in the American Southwest. The river has its source in the Rocky Mountains in Northern Colorado and flows southwest, where it shaped the Grand Canyon over millions of years. Further downstream, the river defines the state boundaries of Arizona-Nevada and Arizona-California. Along the main course of the river, there are eleven U.S. National Parks and at least five large dams that reduce the water of the stream to a trickle when it reaches Mexico, where it empties into the Gulf of California.
The 2,364 km long Arkansas River runs from the Rocky Mountains in Lake County of Colorado to join the Mississippi River in Arkansas. Some sections of the river are popular for white water rafting.
The largest river in the Pacific Northwest is the Columbia River; it has its headwaters in British Columbia, Canada, and flows first south into the US state of Washington and then west to empty into the Pacific Ocean south of Seattle.
The more than 1,800 km long Red River (of the South) was another major tributary of the Mississippi, today it feeds the Atchafalaya River, an estuary of the Mississippi.
The Snake River has its source at the continental watershed in Yellowstone National Park, then flows south through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The Snake River is about 1,700 km long and the largest tributary of the Columbia River.
Population
The United States of America has a racially and ethnically diverse population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 60.1% Non-Hispanic White Americans, 18.5% Hispanic and Latino (of any race), 13.4% Black or African American, 5.9% Asian, 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Natives. [2]
More than 80% of Americans live in urban areas. More than 300 cities in the US have more than 100,000 inhabitants, and there are 54 metropolitan areas with a population of more than one million people.
The largest metropolitan areas are New York City (20.1 million), Los Angeles (13.3 million), Chicago (9.5 million), Dallas (7.2 million), Houston (6.7 million), Washington, D.C. (6.1 million) and Philadelphia (6 million).
Busiest US Airports
The map also shows the location of major airports in the United States.
The busiest airports in the United States are:
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA (IATA: ATL)
Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA (IATA: LAX)
O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL (IATA: ORD)
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, TX (IATA: DFW)
Denver International Airport, Denver, CO (IATA: DEN)
More about the 50 US States
Explore the USA from Alabama to Wyoming. Get more information about each of the 50 states, including facts, fun, maps, and images.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
More about the United States
Cities:
U.S. States:
Population of the 50 U.S. States
Country:
Map of the states of mainland USA
Map of the 48 states of the US.
Searchable map/satellite view of the United States.
Most populated cities in the U.S.
Continent:
Political Map of North America
Weather Conditions Washington D.C.:
Maps of other Countries in North America:
Maps of Countries in Central America:
Costa Rica Map | El Salvador Map | Guatemala Map | Honduras Map | Nicaragua Map | Panama Map
Maps of Caribbean Islands
Cuba Map | Dominican Republic Map | Haiti Map | Jamaica Map | Puerto Rico Map
Maps of other Countries in South America:
Brazil Map | Chile Map | Colombia Map | Ecuador Map | French Guiana Map | Guyana Map | Paraguay Map | Peru Map
Share on Twitter Share on FacebookUnbelievable! Its comfort actually!
read moreAs time went by, this blog was developed for many different purposes. Last time, I had a lot of pleasure in sharing some of my Lego-related hobbies. However, I will mostly upload a blog about bikes and their development in the next few months! Recently, I have so much into ebike cargo. They say this type of bike can replace the car! And I am very into it since my place is crowded with traffic jams! The video above showed a funny situation: I started the review from Brooks's handle! And after nine years! It's still an excellent bike handle and not even destroyed!
read moreKeep Watching
Hi, hi, hi. So, it's been a while for the last couple of weeks since I have considered buying a cargo bike. The reason is that I am often trapped in a traffic jam because I can't get faster in my car.
read moreIndonesia has launched Southeast Asia’s first-ever bullet train, a high-speed rail line connecting two of its largest cities.
Congrats! Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first bullet train.
Custom LEGO Transformers Devastator
My faith in humanity is restored! OK, that’s a bit overboard – but you couldn’t blame me if you see an incredibly, exquisitely and wonderfully executed custom LEGO Transformers Devastator such as this by Alex Jones. I feel transported to the 80’s once again, with the same intense childhood wonder when I first saw the Constructicons combine and become the formidable Devastator.
Collaboratively administrate empowered markets via plug-and-play networks. Dynamically procrastinate B2C users after installed base benefits. Dramatically visualize customer directed convergence without
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