how many states are in the continental united states
48
title: Contiguous United States text: on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost and so far, the latest state to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean, about from North America and almost halfway to Asia. In Hawaii and overseas American territories, for instance, the terms "the Mainland" or "U.S. Mainland" are often used to refer to the contiguous United States. Apart from off-shore US islands, a few continental portions of the contiguous US are accessible by road only by traveling through Canada. Point Roberts, Washington; Elm Point, Minnesota; and the Northwest Angle in Minnesota are three title: Contiguous United States text: Contiguous United States The contiguous United States or officially the conterminous United States consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) on the continent of North America. The terms exclude the non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii, and all off-shore insular areas, These differ from the related term continental United States which includes Alaska (also on the North American continent but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia, Canada) but excludes Hawaii and insular territories. The greatest distance (on a great circle route) entirely within the 48 contiguous states is 2,802 miles (4,509 km, between title: Geography of the United States text: Geography of the United States The term "United States", when used in the geographical sense, is the contiguous United States, the state of Alaska, the island state of Hawaii, the five insular territories of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, and minor outlying possessions. The United States shares land borders with Canada and Mexico and maritime borders with Russia, Cuba, and the Bahamas in addition to Canada and Mexico. The United States's northern border with Canada is the world's longest bi-national land border. From 1989 through 1996, the total area of the US was title: Continent text: to the mainland of Australia, excluding Tasmania and New Guinea. Similarly, the "continental United States" refers to the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia in central North America and may include Alaska in the northwest of the continent (the two being separated by Canada), while excluding Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam in the oceans. From the perspective of geology or physical geography, "continent" may be extended beyond the confines of continuous dry land to include the shallow, submerged adjacent area (the continental shelf) and the islands on the shelf (continental islands), as they are structurally part of the title: United States text: is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries. Paleo-Indians migrated