First State:
Delaware,
which became a state on December 7, 1787
Most Recent State:
Hawaii,
admitted in 1959
Most Populous State:
California,
33,871,648 people (2000 US census)
Least Populous State:
Wyoming,
493,782 people (2000 US census)
Biggest City in the USA: New York,
New York,
with over 7,000,000 people
Birthplaces of the Most Presidents: 8 Presidents born in
Virginia
(William Henry Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor,
George Washington,
and Woodrow Wilson) and 7 Presidents born in
Ohio
(Ulysses Simpson Grant, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, James Abram Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Gamaliel Harding).
State with the Most Bordering States:
Missouri
with 8 bordering states (
Arkansas,
Illinois,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Nebraska,
Oklahoma,
Tennessee)
and
Tennessee
with 8 bordering states (
Alabama,
Arkansas,
Georgia,
Kentucky,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
North Carolina,
Virginia)
Longest State Names (commonly used name):
Massachusetts,
North Carolina,
South Carolina
Longest Official State Name: The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Shortest State Names: Iowa,
Ohio,
Utah
US GEOGRAPHY EXTREMES:
Biggest State (Area):
Alaska:
656,425 square miles
Smallest State (Area):
Rhode Island,
1,545 square miles
State that is Farthest North:
Alaska
State that is Farthest South:
Hawaii
State that is Farthest East:
Maine
(although some of
Alaska's
Aleutian Islands cross the 180-degree longitude line, and are technically farther east than the other US states).
State that is Farthest West:
Alaska
Geographic Center of the Continental USA: Smith County,
Kansas
Geographic Center of the Entire USA (all 50 states):
South Dakota
Highest Point: Mount McKinley,
Alaska,
20,300 ft (6,194 m) above sea level
Lowest Point: Death Valley,
California,
282 feet (86 m) below sea level [this is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere]
Longest River: Missouri River (it is a tributary of the Mississippi River and is 2,540 miles long)
River with the Biggest Volume of Water: Mississippi River (2,348 miles (3,778 km) long)
Biggest Lake: Lake Superior with an area of 31,820 square miles (82,414 sq km)
Biggest Island: The Island of
Hawaii,
with an area of 4,038 square miles (10,459 sq km)
Tallest Waterfall: Ribbon Falls in
California,
with a height of 1,612 feet (491 m)
Waterfall with the Greatest Volume of Water: Niagara Falls in
New York
US WEATHER EXTREMES:
Coldest City: International Falls,
Minnesota,
with a mean temperature of 36.4 degrees F.
Snowiest City: Blue Canyon,
California,
with 240.8 inches of snow each year.
Hottest Temperature in the USA:
California
(
134 degrees F at Greenland Ranch on July 10, 1913)
Coldest Temperature in the USA:
Alaska
(
-80 Degrees F on January 23, 1971, at Prospect Creek)
Most Snow in 24 Hours:
Colorado,
76 inches (192.5 cm) fell in one day at Silver Lake, Colorado
Most Rain Each Year:
Hawaii,
460 inches (1168 cm) fall on Mt. Waialeale, Kauai, Hawaii, each year
Biggest Hailstone:
Kansas,
the largest hailstone in the US was 44.5 cm (17.5") in circumference. It fell in Coffeyville, Kansas.
Strongest Wind: . Mt. Washington,
New Hampshire,
where
gusts of 231 mph (372 kph)
have been recorded
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