Where is mainland usa

Apply Filter. Can I add new entries to the Geographic Names Information System for manmade and administrative features, such as churches, cemeteries, schools, shopping centers, etc.? Upon validation, they will be committed to the database. Does the Geographic Names Information System Database contain entries for obsolete names and historical geographic features that no longer exist?

The term "historical" as used in the GNIS specifically means that the feature no longer exists on the landscape. An abandoned ghost town, for example, still exists so it is not historical. Historical features have no reference to age, size, There are no official definitions of city, town, village, hamlet, neighborhood, etc. All named entities with human habitation are classified as Populated Place, including incorporated places 20 percent of the Nation's communities , unincorporated places the majority , housing developments not yet incorporated, and neighborhoods within What are the official definitions of regions in the United States.

No level of government has official designations for regions. The U. Board on Geographic Names , which is responsible by law for standardizing geographic name usage throughout the Federal government, is often asked for official names and boundaries of regions, but does not and cannot provide them. Regions are application-driven and highly How are U. Board on Geographic Names BGN , which maintains cooperative working relationships with state names authorities to standardize geographic names.

GNIS contains information about the official names for places, features, and About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.

Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. Home Research Topics Methodological Research. Sign up for our weekly newsletter Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings. Officially, , The contiguous United States would be placed 5th in the list of sovereign states and dependencies by area ; the total area of the country, including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks fourth. Brazil is the only country that is larger in total area than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States, while Russia , Canada and China are the only three countries larger than both.

The census population of this area was ,,, comprising While conterminous U. Because Alaska is also on the North American continent, the term continental United States would also include that state, so the term is sometimes qualified with the explicit inclusion or exclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity.

The term was in use prior to the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states of the United States and at that time usually excluded outlying territories of the United States. However, even before Alaska became a state, it was sometimes included within the "Continental U.

The term " Lower 48 " is also used to refer to the conterminous United States. The National Geographic style guide recommends the use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of lower 48 when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska.

Both Alaskans and Hawaiians have unique labels for the contiguous United States because of their own locations relative to them.