Continental United States

Encyclopedia : C : CO : CON : Continental United States

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Depending on usage, the term continental United States can refer to either:

• the 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia; or
• the 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia and Alaska.

The first definition is more traditional, dating back to before Alaskan statehood, and is the more commonly-used definition. The second definition is the technically correct definition, because Alaska is on the North American continent. See the [definition of continental].

To avoid confusion between these two definitions, people often use the term continental United States when they mean to include Alaska, and one of the following when they mean to exclude Alaska:

• contiguous United States
• conterminous states
• lower 48 states
• CONUS (a military abbreviation)

The term "the lower 48 (states)" arose before Hawaii became a state, and is no longer completely accurate since Hawaii is the southernmost state of the Union. If interpreted literally, the term would refer to all states except Alaska and Minnesota, the two northernmost states. Regardless of its accuracy, though, "the lower 48" is commonly understood to mean the contiguous U.S., excluding Alaska and Hawaii (especially when spoken from the vantage point of Alaska).

Although the District of Columbia is not a state, it is considered correct to count it as part of the continental United States or contiguous United States, as long as "United States" is capitalized, because it is an official part of the country named "the United States".

Use in Alaska and Hawaii

Some places, because of their own location relative to the contiguous United States, have their own unique labels for it:

• In Hawaii, the term "the Mainland" or "U.S. Mainland" is used to refer to the continental United States (either including or excluding Alaska).
• In Alaska, the term "lower 48" is used, in addition to "continental United States," to refer to the contiguous states. Long-time residents often simply call this area "Outside", as in "My brother went Outside to have heart surgery".

Use in federal law

As the language of the Alaska Omnibus Act of 1959 makes apparent, the term was in use in U.S. federal law prior to then. It presumably dates from after the acquisition of Alaska in 1867, and probably from after the Spanish-American War and the annexation of Hawaii brought the United States its first off-continent possessions, both in 1898. Whatever else these terms may be, "continental United States" is a term defined in various federal laws, in different ways in different time periods; it is also defined in different ways at the same time, depending on whether or not the context was the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, during at least a period that began with Alaska statehood.

Trivia

The contiguous United States is approximately 2500 miles wide. Shipping by certain U.S. companies is restricted to the contiguous United States to avoid the higher freight charges for shipping to Alaska and Hawaii. However, for packages that fit within weight and size limits, shipping parcel post to Alaska or Hawaii using the United States Postal Service is not higher than within the contiguous United States, so if more U. S. companies were flexible in choosing their shipping vendor they would not need to charge higher rates.

See also

• Mainland

External links

• Definition of [continental].
• Definition of [contiguous].
• Definition of [conterminous].
• [Definitions of continental United States and contiguous United States as used by United Airlines.]

 

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