Which States Are Included In The Continental Interior?

The contiguous United States, officially known as the conterminous United States, consists of 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia in central North America. It excludes Alaska and Hawaii, which are the last two non-contiguous states. The continental United States includes 49 states (excluding Alaska) located on the North American continent and the District of Columbia. The continental interior of the United States encompasses the region between the Rocky Mountain front and the Appalachia-Ouachita front, a cratonic platform that separates watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean.

The continental divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, separating major watersheds flowing to different oceans. The ranges included in the Rockies stretch from northern Alberta and British Columbia southward to New Mexico, a distance of about 3,500 miles. The unified interior regions include Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 3:

The Continental Divide runs from Cape Prince of Wales in western Alaska, through the Rocky Mountains of western Canada and the continental United States, and continues through Alaska, Western Canada, the U.S. states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and into Central America. The Interior Lowlands are composed chiefly of the great Central Lowland of the Midwestern states.

In summary, the conterminous United States comprises 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia in central North America, with Hawaii and smaller outlying areas located in the Pacific and Caribbean.

What states are in the Continental Divide?

The Continental Divide is a continuous ridge of north-south-trending mountain summits in western North America that divides the continent’s principal drainage into eastward and westward flows. It runs along the crest of the Rocky Mountains, through British Columbia, Canada, and the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. It continues southward into Mexico and Central America, paralleling the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur. In general, the name “continental divide” refers to the main water parting in any continent.

What states are in the continental?

The continental United States comprises 49 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and New York. Most states in the continental United States are contiguous, with most being part of North America. Hawaii is the only state not part of the continental United States.

Alaska is part of the continental United States but not part of the contiguous United States. Contiguous states are continuous because they connect and are located near each other. Washington, D. C., while not a state itself, is also part of both continental and contiguous states. The United States of America is a diverse nation with a rich history and diverse geography.

How many states are in the continental states?

The terms “contiguous” and “continental” are frequently conflated and employed in a haphazard manner. The term “contiguous United States” is used to refer to the lower 48 North American states, including the District of Columbia. In contrast, the term “continental United States” is used to refer to the 49 states, including Alaska and the District of Columbia. It is advisable to define the term in question on the first occasion of its use.

Where are continental areas?

Continental climates are characterized by significant annual temperature variations, with warm to hot summers and cold winters. They occur in central and eastern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, typically in the middle latitudes, often within large landmasses. Continentality measures the degree to which a region experiences this type of climate. Precipitation in continental climates is moderate, concentrated mostly in warmer months. Only a few areas show a winter maximum in precipitation.

A portion of the annual precipitation falls as snowfall, and snow often remains on the ground for more than a month. Summers in continental climates can feature thunderstorms and frequent hot temperatures, but summer weather is somewhat more stable than winter weather. Continental climates are considered temperate climate varieties due to their location in the temperate zones. They are classified separately from other temperate climates in the Köppen climate classification system and Trewartha climate classification. Continental climates have at least one month averaging below 0°C (32°F) and at least one month averaging above 10°C (50°F).

What US states have a continental climate?

Continental climate is primarily experienced in the northern states of the United States, including Alaska, and in the southern states of California, Oregon, and Arizona. Major cities in this climate zone include Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, Omaha, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, New York City, Buffalo, Boston, and Cleveland. These areas have four distinct seasons, with mean daily high temperatures ranging from -12°C to -1°C in winter to 21°C to 27°C in summer. The climate also experiences severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, especially in May and June.

In South America, no major city falls into the continental climate classification due to the influence of the ocean. Most parts of the continent fall within the oceanic climate zone, but some remote areas, such as Mendoza in Argentina, experience continental characteristics. The continental climate is found mainly in the inland and eastern parts of a continent, with warm summers and cold winters encouraging the growth of diverse plants.

The forests within this climate zone are divided into coniferous and deciduous, and common plants include silver maple, Carolina lupine, and lavender. The region also houses various types of animals, including birds and snakes.

What are the only 2 states not part of the continental United States?

The Continental United States comprises the 49 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) on North America’s continent and the District of Columbia. The United States includes all areas under the sovereignty of the United States, but does not include leased areas. The U. S. Board on Geographic Names defined the Continental United States as “the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia” in 1959 and reaffirmed these definitions in 1999.

What two states do not touch the continental United States?

The contiguous United States, officially known as the conterminous United States, comprises 48 adjoining U. S. states and the District of Columbia in central North America. It excludes Alaska and Hawaii, the last two non-contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, and all offshore insular areas. The colloquial term “Lower 48” is also used, especially in relation to Alaska. The continental United States includes Alaska, separated from the 48 states by British Columbia in Canada, but excludes Hawaii and all insular areas in the Caribbean and Pacific.

The contiguous U. S. occupies an area of 3, 119, 884. 69 square miles (8, 080, 464. 3 km2), with 2, 959, 064. 44 square miles (7, 663, 941. 7 km2) being actual land and 160, 820. 25 square miles (416, 522. 5 km2) being water area. The greatest distance entirely within the contiguous U. S. is 2, 802 miles (4, 509 km) coast-to-coast between Florida and Washington, and 1, 650 miles (2, 660 km) north-south.

Why do they call it the Continental Divide?

A continental divide is a natural boundary that separates a continent’s river systems, each of which feeds into a distinct ocean, bay, or sea. It is a broad, continent-wide example of drainage divides, which separate drainage basins or watersheds of all sizes. These divides, often found in raised terrain like mountain ranges or hills, are characterized by precipitation flowing from one side to another. The Loveland Pass in Colorado is an example of a continental divide, separating water flowing into the Atlantic and Pacific ocean basins.

What states are not in the continental US?

The “continental United States” definition includes the 48 contiguous states, but excludes Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and other U. S. territories. The results are generalizable to the population of adults living in this definition. However, surveys cover about 98 of the total population in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and other areas. To correct minor skews introduced by sampling, the sample is adjusted to match Census Bureau estimates of age, gender, race, and educational attainment characteristics of the U. S. adult population. Other characteristics, such as household size, are also adjusted. More details can be found in the detailed descriptions accompanying every major report.

What are the 7 continental area?

A continent is a group of several large geographical regions, typically identified by convention rather than strict criteria. These regions can be single landmasses or part of large ones, such as Asia or Europe. The number of continents varies, with most English-speaking countries recognizing seven regions: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Some regions may merge, such as merging North America and South America into America, Asia and Europe into Eurasia, and Africa, Asia, and Europe into Afro-Eurasia.

Oceanic islands are sometimes grouped with a nearby continent to divide the world’s land into geographical regions, such as Oceania. In geology, a continent is defined as one of Earth’s major landmasses, including dry land and continental shelves. Geological continents correspond to seven large areas of continental crust found on tectonic plates, excluding small continental fragments like Madagascar, which are microcontinents. Continental crust is only known to exist on Earth.

What are the continental interiors?

The continental interior of the United States, spanning between the Rocky Mountain front and the Appalachia-Ouachita front, is a cratonic platform that represents the southern third of the North American craton. It is a region of cratonic platform. ScienceDirect uses cookies and holds copyright for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. Open access content is licensed under Creative Commons terms.