the Atlantic Ocean on the east; pacific on the west; gulf of Mexico and Mexico on the south; Canada on the north
the Atlantic Ocean on the east; pacific on the west; gulf of Mexico and Mexico on the south; Canada on the north
Contiguous means that their borders are touching the continental US. Alaska and Hawaii do not touch the mainland.
Canada shares borders with both Alaska and with the contiguous US.
You answered your own question. There are the Continental United States , or contiguous states, and the non-contiguous States . Although Alaska is continental , it touches no other state.
There are 49 states in continental America.
The Atlantic Ocean borders the US to the East. The Pacific Ocean borders the western side.
Contiguous means that their borders are touching the continental US. Alaska and Hawaii do not touch the mainland.
Canada has only two land borders with the US. One with the contiguous states and the other with Alaska. These are therefore the two shortest and longest borders.
The word contiguous means touching or connected. The contiguous US refers to the largest connected piece of American land. This happens to be the land situated between Mexico and Canada, which is also referred to as the Lower 48 because it contains forty-eight states. Therefore, the 48 states that are joined together are considered the contiguous United States, leaving Hawaii and Alaska as stand-alone states.The contiguous US is sometimes mistaken with the continental US. The continental US refers to the area of the US that is located on the continent of North America. This is just the contiguous US in addition to Alaska. Yet, Hawaii is not a part of the continental US either.It means it does not physically touch other states. Hawaii has an ocean between itself and other states. Alaska has another country- Canada- between it and another state.
49 of the 50 U.S. states are on the continent (all except Hawaii). 48 of them are contiguous. Alaska is continental but not contiguous.
Canada borders the US to the north, while Mexico borders the US to the south.
The contiguous U.S.is made from the lower forty-eght states plus the District of Columbia. The continental U.S. contains the contiguous U.S. plus Alaska.Since the District of Columbia is not a state, when you speak of the lower forty-eight, you are not including D.C.Remember it this way. Alaska is part of the North America continent, hence it is part of the continental U.S. Generally, you don't say contiguous 48, just contiguous U.S.See Sources and related links for more information.