Washington DC
Located midway along the eastern seaboard of the United States, south of Maryland, north of Virginia and 233 miles south of New York City, the Washington, DC metropolitan area refers to the District of Columbia, plus 7 Maryland counties (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's), 5 Virginia counties (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William and Stafford) and 6 Virginia cities (Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park).

The District of Columbia is 67 square miles and divided into 4 quadrants: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeast. The U.S. Capitol building marks the center where the quadrants meet. Numbered streets run north and south. Lettered streets run east and west (there are no J, X, Y or Z streets), becoming two-syllable names, then three-syllable names as you travel farther out from the center. Avenues named for US states run diagonally, often meeting at traffic circles and squares.

California
Ranking third among the U.S. states in area, California has a diverse topography and climate. A series of low mountains known as the Coast Ranges extends along the 1,200-mi (1,930-km) coast. The region from Point Arena, N of San Francisco, to the southern part of the state is subject to tremors and sometimes to severe earthquakes caused by tectonic stress along the San Andreas fault. The Coast Ranges receive heavy rainfall in the north, where the giant cathedrallike redwood forests prevail, but the climate of these mountains is considerably drier in S California, and S of the Golden Gate no major rivers reach the ocean. Behind the coastal ranges in central California lies the great Central Valley, a long alluvial valley drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. In the southeast lie vast wastelands, notably the Mojave Desert, site of Joshua Tree National Park.

Rising as an almost impenetrable granite barrier E of the Central Valley is the Sierra Nevada range, which includes Mt. Whitney, Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park. The Cascade Range, the northern continuation of the Sierra Nevada, includes Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lying E of the S Sierra Nevada is Death Valley National Park. The drier portions of the state especially are subject periodically to large, wind-driven fires; in certain hilly areas sometimes devastating mudslides occur, particularly in the rainy season after large fires.

Sacramento is the state capital. The largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Long Beach, Oakland, and Sacramento.

Texas
Texas is bordered by New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to the north. On the west Texas is bordered by New Mexico and shares an international border with Mexico. To the south, Texas borders Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. The irregular shape of Texas means that it shares its eastern borders with Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Texas covers 268,601 square miles, making it the 2nd largest of the 50 states, right behind Alaska.

Hawaii
Hawaii (Hawaiian/Hawaiian English: Hawai‘i, with the ‘okina) is the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Hawaii constitutes the 50th state of the United States. It was admitted on August 21, 1959. As of the 2000 U.S. Census it had a population of 1,211,537 people. Honolulu is the largest city and the state capital.

This state most recently admitted into the Union has many distinctions. In addition to possessing the southernmost point in the United States, it is the only state that lies completely in the tropics. As one of two states outside the contiguous United States (the other being Alaska), it is the only one without territory on the mainland of any continent and is the only state that continues to grow due to active lava flows, most notably from Kilauea. Ethnically, it is the only state that has a majority group that is non-white (and one of only three in which non-Hispanic whites do not form a majority) and has the largest percentage of Asian Americans. Ecologically and agriculturally, it is the endangered species capital of the world and is the only industrial producer of coffee and chocolate in the United States.

Hawaii is also the namesake and backdrop of a popular 1959 novel by James Michener and its 1966 movie adaptation.

Arizona
Northern Arizona lies on the Colorado Plateau, an area of dry plains more than 4,000 ft (1,220 m) high, with deep canyons, including the famous Grand Canyon carved by the Colorado River. Along the Little Colorado River, which runs northwest through the plateau to join the Colorado, are the Painted Desert, where erosion has left colorful layers of sediment exposed, and the Petrified Forest National Park, one of the world's most extensive areas of petrified wood. South of the Grand Canyon are the San Francisco Peaks, including Humphreys Peak, the highest point (12,655 ft/3,857 m) in the state. The southern edge of the Colorado Plateau is marked by an escarpment called Mogollon Rim.

The southern half of the state has desert basins broken up by mountains with rocky peaks and extending NW to SE across central Arizona. To the south, the Gila River, a major tributary of the Colorado, flows west across the entire state. This area has desert plains separated by mountain chains running north and south; in the west the plains fall to the relatively low altitude of c.140 ft (43 m) in the region around Yuma.

Although some mountain peaks receive an annual rainfall of more than 30 in. (76 cm), precipitation in most of the state is low, and much of Arizona's history has been shaped by the inadequate water supply. Since the early 20th cent., massive irrigation projects have been built in Arizona's valleys. Roosevelt, Horse Mesa, Mormon Flat, and Stewart Mountain dams, with reservoirs and storage lakes, irrigate the Salt River valley. The Gillespie Dam on the Gila River helps irrigate the Yuma vicinity. The Coolidge Dam, with its San Carlos reservoir, serves the area near Casa Grande in the southeast. W Arizona is irrigated by Colorado River dams, which also serve California. These include Hoover, Glen Canyon, Davis, Parker, Imperial, and Laguna dams. At the Parker dam, the Central Arizona Project diverts water via canal to Phoenix, the state's capital and largest city, and Tucson, the second largest city. Arizona also obtains water from groundwater pumping stations.

New York
Eastern New York is dominated by the Great Appalachian Valley. Lake Champlain is the chief northern feature of the valley, which also includes the Hudson River. The Hudson is noted for its beauty, as are Champlain and neighboring Lake George. West of the lakes are the rugged Adirondack Mts., another major vacationland, with extensive wildernesses and sports centers like Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Mt. Marcy (5,344 ft/1,629 m), the highest point in the state, is near Lake Placid. The rest of NE New York is hilly, sloping gradually to the valleys of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, both of which separate it from Ontario. The Mohawk River, which flows from Rome into the Hudson north of Albany, is part of the New York State Canal System's Erie Canal, once a major route to the Great Lakes and the midwestern United States as well as the only complete natural route through the Appalachian Mts.

Most of the southern part of the state is on the Allegheny plateau, which rises in the SE to the Catskill Mts., an area that attracts many vacationers from New York City and its environs. New York City, in turn, attracts tourists from all over the world. On the extreme SE, the state extends into the Atlantic Ocean to form Long Island, which is separated from Connecticut on the N by Long Island Sound.

The western extension of the state to Lakes Ontario and Erie contains many bodies of water, notably Oneida Lake and the celebrated Finger Lakes. In the northwest the Niagara River, with scenic Niagara Falls, forms the border with Ontario between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The western region has resorts as well as large, traditionally industrial cities such as Buffalo on Lake Erie, Rochester on Lake Ontario, Syracuse, and Utica. The western section is drained by the Allegheny River and rivers of the Susquehanna and Delaware systems. The Delaware River Basin Compact, signed in 1961 by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the federal government, regulates the utilization of water of the Delaware system.

In addition to the great forest preserves of the Adirondacks and Catskills, New York has many state parks, among them Jones Beach State Park and Allegany State Park. Part of Fire Island, which lies off Long Island, is a national seashore. The racetrack at Saratoga Springs, a pleasure and health resort, and the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River are popular with summer vacationers. Among the places of historic interest in the state under federal administration (see National Parks and Monuments, table) are those at Hyde Park, with the burial place of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Vanderbilt Mansion. Albany is the capital; New York City is the largest city, followed by Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse.

Alabama
Alabama is 330 miles long and 190 miles wide at its most distant points.

Alabama is bordered by Tennessee on the north, Georgia on the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico on the south and Mississippi on the west.

Alabama covers 52,423 square miles, making it the 30th largest of the 50 states.

The highest temperature recorded in Alabama is 112°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on September 5, 1925 at Centerville. The lowest temperature in Alabama, -27°, was recorded on January 30, 1966 at New Market.

Alaska
Alaska is approximately 1,480 miles long and 810 miles wide.

Most of Alaska is surrounded by water. To the north is the Arctic Ocean, (the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea). To the south is the Gulf of Alaska and Pacific Ocean. To the west is the Bering Sea. Alaska's land borders Canada to the east and south.

Alaska covers 656,425 square miles, making it the largest of the 50 states and more than twice the size of Texas, the second largest state.

Ohio
Ohio is 220 miles long and 220 miles wide at its most distant points.

Ohio is bordered by Pennsylvania and West Virginia on the east. On the west Ohio shares its border with Indiana. To the north of Ohio is Michigan and Lake Erie. Ohio is bordered by Kentucky and West Virginia in the south.

Ohio covers 44,828 square miles, making it the 34th largest of the 50 states.

Ohio's topography consists of rolling plains for the most part. In the north, Ohio borders Lake Erie. The Lake Erie Plains, part of the Great Lakes Plains, extend southward from the lake into Ohio. The Allegheny Plateau is located in the east. The Central or Till Plains cover the western portion of the state.

Arkansas
Arkansas is 260 miles long and 240 miles wide.

Arkansas is bordered by Missouri on the north and Louisiana on the south. Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi border Arkansas on the east. The Mississippi River marks Arkansas' eastern border with these three states. On the west, Arkansas is bordered by Texas and Oklahoma.

Arkansas covers 53,182 square miles, making it the 29th largest of the 50 states.

The Highlands of Arkansas are in the north and western part of the state. The Ozark Plateau and the Ouachita mountains are located here. The Lowlands of Arkansas lie to the south and the east. Arkansas can be divided into five main land regions; the Ozark Plateau, the Arkansas Valley, the Ouachita Mountains, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and the West Gulf Coastal Plain.

Colorado
Colorado is 380 miles long and 280 miles wide.

Colorado is bordered by Wyoming and Nebraska on the north. To the south is New Mexico and Oklahoma. In the east, Colorado is bordered by Nebraska and Kansas and to the west by Utah. The southwest corner of Colorado meets Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. This spot is known as Four Corners.

Colorado covers 104,100 square miles, making it the 8th largest of the 50 states.

Located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, Colorado is not all mountainous. In fact, the eastern 2/5 of the state is quite flat. Colorado is rightly considered a state that reaches great altitudes however. The mean elevation of Colorado is higher than any other state and Colorado is the home of 54 mountain peaks that reach over 14,000 feet into the sky. The land areas of Colorado can be classified into four different regions; the Great Plains in the eastern 2/5 of the state, the Rocky Mountains in the central 2/5 of the state, the Colorado Plateau along the western 1/5 of the state and a small area known as the Intermontane Basin that lies north of the Colorado Plateau.

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is 283 miles long, from east to west, and 160 miles wide at its most distant points.

Pennsylvania is bordered by New York and Lake Erie to the north. In the south, Pennsylvania shares borders with West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. To the east, New York and New Jersey line up on the Pennsylvania border. Pennsylvania meets Ohio and an arm of West Virginia on the West.

Pennsylvania covers 46,058 square miles, making it the 33rd largest of the 50 states.

The Allegheny Mountains run diagonally from the southwest to the northeast with piedmont and coastal plains in the southeast triangle. The Allegheny Front, as it's called, cuts a diagonal line across the state. In the northwest, the plateau falls to the Lake Erie lowlands and, finally, Lake Erie.

New Jersey
New Jersey is about 150 miles long and 70 miles wide.

New Jersey is bordered by New York on the north and by the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean on the south. On the east, New Jersey is again bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. On the west, New Jersey is bordered by Delaware Bay and Pennsylvania.

New Jersey covers 8,722 square miles, making it the 47th largest of the 50 states.

The highest temperature recorded in New Jersey is 110°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on July 10, 1936 at Runyon. The lowest temperature in New Jersey, -34°, was recorded on January 5, 1904 at River Vale. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 85.6 degrees to a low of 24.2 degrees.

Oregon
Oregon is about 360 miles long and 261 miles wide.

Oregon is bordered by Washington on the north and California and Nevada on the south. On the east, Oregon is bordered by Idaho and on the west, Oregon is bordered by the Pacific Ocean.

Oregon covers 98,386 square miles, making it the 9th largest of the 50 states.

The highest temperature recorded in Oregon is 119°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on August 10, 1938 at Pendleton. The lowest temperature in Oregon, -54°, was recorded on February 10, 1933 at Seneca. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 82.6 degrees to a low of 32.8 degrees.

South Carolina
South Carolina is roughly triangular in shape. The long, even coast lined with beautiful sand beaches on the “Grand Strand” north of Georgetown becomes generally marshy to the south and is sliced by a network of rivers and creeks, creating a maze of inlets and the famous Sea Islands. The coastal climate is humid subtropical, with long, hot summers and short, mild winters. In this area are found cypress swamps, moss-hung oaks, beautiful flowering gardens, antebellum plantations, and the historic seaports of Georgetown, Beaufort, and Charleston, the latter a major tourist attraction and one of the chief ports of entry in the Southeast.

The fall line on the state's Atlantic-bound rivers separates the coastal Low Country from the rolling Piedmont plateau of the Up Country and runs generally parallel to the coast, passing through Columbia. Inland the climate is temperate, becoming progressively cooler as the elevation increases. In the extreme northwest are the Blue Ridge Mts.; they occupy only c.500 sq mi (1,290 sq km) in the state, with Sassafras Mt. (3,560 ft/1,085 m) the highest point.

Rainfall is abundant and well distributed throughout South Carolina. The Pee Dee, Santee, Edisto, and Savannah river systems drain the state, flowing from the highlands to the sea, creating rapids and waterfalls. This abundant source of hydroelectric power is one of South Carolina's most important natural resources. Several nuclear plants operate in the state as well.

Vacationers are attracted to Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, to the Sea Island resorts, and to Charleston's stately homes and gardens. The state's historical places of interest include Fort Sumter National Monument, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield (see National Parks and Monuments, table). Columbia is the capital and the largest city; Charleston and Greenville are other major cities.

North Carolina
An American state, devides the state into three divisions or sections -- the Appalachian mountains formed mostly by the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, the Middle or Piedmont Plateau, and the Eastern or Tidewater section, also known as the Coastal Plain. North Carolina covers 53,821 square miles and is 500 miles long by 150 miles wide. The physical characteristics of the state will be better understood by picturing in your mind its surface as spread out upon a vast declivity, sloping down from the summits of the Smoky Mountains, an altitude of near seven thousand feet, to the ocean level.

Rhode Island
The smallest state in the union, Rhode Island is about 40 miles long and 30 miles wide.

Rhode Island is bordered by Massachusetts on the north and on the east. On the south, Rhode Island is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. On the west, Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut.

Rhode Island covers 1,545 square miles, making it the smallest of the 50 states.

The highest temperature recorded in Rhode Island is 104°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on August 2, 1975 at Providence. The lowest temperature in Rhode Island, -25°, was recorded on February 6, 1996 at Greene. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 81.7 degrees to a low of 20.0 degrees.

Connecticut
Generally rectangular in shape, Connecticut extends c.90 mi (145 km) from east to west and c.55 mi (90 km) from north to south. The state is divided into two roughly equal sections, usually called the eastern highland and the western highland, which are separated by the Connecticut Valley lowland. The Connecticut River, which flows through only the northern half of this lowland, veers off to the southeast at Middletown in central Connecticut. In the south along Long Island Sound is a low, rolling coastal plain. The western highland, with the Taconic Mts. and the Litchfield Hills, is more rugged than the eastern highland. A few isolated peaks in the west are over 2,000 ft (610 m) high. The Thames and the rivers emptying into it drain the eastern highland, and the Housatonic, with its chief tributary, the Naugatuck, drains the western highland. The Connecticut shore is a popular summer resort area, and the protected waters of Long Island Sound lure boating enthusiasts. Bridgeport is the largest city, with Hartford , the capital, and New Haven next in size.

New Hampshire
The continental ice sheet once covered the entire state, scraping the mountains, eroding intervening upland areas, and rerouting water courses into precipitous streams and beautiful lakes. Across the north central part of the state the residual White Mountains of the Appalachian chain form ranges abruptly broken by passes (called notches). Between the Carter-Moriah Range and the Presidential Range in the east, the Ellis River drops 80 ft (24 m) through Pinkham Notch. West of the Presidential Range (which includes Mt. Washington, highest peak in New England at 6,288 ft/1,917 m), the cascading courses of the Ammonoosuc and Saco rivers divide it from the Franconia Mountains at Crawford Notch. To the southwest, in Franconia Notch, are Profile Lake (formerly watched over by the Old Man of the Mountain), the Basin, and the Flume, the waters of which flow into the Pemigewasset as it tumbles on its way to join the Merrimack. The northernmost gap, Dixville Notch, is surrounded by rocky pinnacles that look down upon a wild, fir-covered country abounding in lakes and streams.

South of the mountains the lake and upland area is frequently interrupted by isolated peaks called “monadnocks” from the original Great Monadnock near Jaffrey. The land surface declines westward to the broad valley of the Connecticut River, and the upper Connecticut valley (known as Coos country) is pleasantly pastoral. Practically every part of the state is within sight of, and identifies itself with, some peak. The climate varies greatly, and occasional high winds and violent storms roar through the narrow valleys. Annual precipitation is about 40 in. (102 cm), with snowfall mounting to 8 ft (2.4 m) in the mountain regions.

Concord is the capital and third largest city; the largest city is Manchester, followed by Nashua. The state's only port, Portsmouth, on the estuary of the Piscataqua River, also serves as a commercial center.

New Hampshire has 142 state parks and forests, and the White Mountains National Forest, which extends into Maine, has c.724,000 acres (293,000 hectares) in New Hampshire. The state's scenic beauty and serenity have long inspired writers and artists. Hawthorne, Whittier, and Longfellow summered in New Hampshire. Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculpted many of his finest works at the artist's colony at Cornish, and the MacDowell Colony at Peterborough is a summer haven for musicians, artists, and writers. The state is most intimately connected with the works of Robert Frost; Frost himself once said that there was not one of his poems “but has something in it of New Hampshire.”