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[3] [4] The colloquial term "Lower 48" [5] is also used, especially in relation to Alaska. The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska, which is also on North America, but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia in Canada, but excludes Hawaii and all the insular areas in the Caribbean and the Pacific. [1] [6]
The United States of America is a federal republic [1] consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. [2] [3] Both the states and the United States as a whole are each sovereign jurisdictions. [4]
The term "United States," when used in the geographic sense, refers to the contiguous United States (sometimes referred to as the Lower 48, including the District of Columbia not as a state), Alaska, Hawaii, the five insular territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and minor outlying possessions. [1]
The population density of the United States is lower than that of many other countries because of the United States' large land area. There are large, sparsely populated areas in parts of the US, like the east-to-west stretch extending from the outskirts of Seattle all the way to Minneapolis , or the north-to-south portion from northern Montana ...
Four states (Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, and Pennsylvania) have expanded substantially by acquiring additional federal territory after their initial admission to the Union. In 1912, Arizona was the last state established in the contiguous United States, commonly called the "lower 48".
U.S. Census Bureau regions and divisions. Since 1950, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. [1] [2] The Census Bureau region definition is "widely used... for data collection and analysis", [3] and is the most commonly used classification system.
The United States has a rich history spanning nearly 250 years. The national motto "In God We Trust" dates back to the Civil War—although Congress didn't make it official until 1956.
This is a list of demonyms used to designate the citizens of specific states, federal district, and territories of the United States of America. Official English-language demonyms are established by the United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO); [ 1 ] however, many other terms are in common use.