State and national boundaries of the United States / Gary Alden Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Gary Alden, 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Boundaries.

United States.

Boundaries.

United States--Historical geography.

Historical geography.

Boundaries, State.

U.S. states.

Noncitizens--U.S. states.

Jury instructions--U.S. states.

Physical Description:

x, 230 pages : illustrations, maps ; 27 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co, [2004]

Summary:

With the exception of oceans, boundaries are artificial, man-made divisions of geography that often make little sense. For example, why does the northern boundary of Minnesota protrude into Canada? Why does West Virginia have two panhandles? Why do Pennsylvania and Delaware have a common boundary that is a circle segment? Why do the boundaries of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah consist entirely of lines of latitude and longitude? The answers to these questions and many more can be found in this book, which explains why and how state boundaries are placed where they are. It begins with general information about boundary placement, colonial boundaries, formation of territories, surveying and Supreme Court rulings. The 50 states are divided into ten regions (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Upper South, Lower South, Great Lakes, North Central, South Central, Rocky Mountain, West, and Noncontiguous). The text for each state begins with an overview of that state's boundaries that becomes more specific as its different boundaries are considered. The appendices include citizen and state nicknames, principal boundary dates and bibliography. Richly illustrated with over 130 maps.

Contents:

2. New England Region 12

Connecticut 13

Maine 17

Massachusetts 21

New Hampshire 25

Rhode Island 28

Vermont 31

3. Mid-Atlantic Region 36

Delaware 37

Maryland 40

Washington, D.C. 44

New Jersey 45

New York 49

Pennsylvania 56

4. Upper South Region 61

Kentucky 62

North Carolina 65

Tennessee 69

Virginia 73

West Virginia 77

5. Lower South Region 80

Alabama 81

Florida 84

Georgia 87

Mississippi 91

South Carolina 95

6. Great Lakes Region 99

Illinois 100

Indiana 103

Michigan 105

Ohio 109

Wisconsin 112

7. North Central Region 116

Iowa 117

Minnesota 119

Nebraska 124

North Dakota 128

South Dakota 130

8. South Central Region 133

Arkansas 134

Kansas 136

Louisiana 139

Missouri 142

Oklahoma 146

Texas 149

9. Rocky Mountain Region 154

Arizona 155

Colorado 157

Montana 160

New Mexico 163

Utah 166

Wyoming 170

10. West Region 173

California 174

Idaho 176

Nevada 181

Oregon 183

Washington 186

11. Noncontiguous Region 190

Alaska 191

Hawaii 193

Appendix A Citizen and State Nicknames 197

Appendix B Principal Boundary Dates 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-221) and index.

ISBN:

0786418613

OCLC:

54852720