Alaska’s Width · Steve Krause

Until today I was not aware that Alaska is as wide as the lower 48 states, extending from San Francisco to Jacksonville, Florida. A colleague’s office has a map similar to this one, which illustrates the point.

A map of the continental United States with Alaska superimposed and centered. The main part of Alaska occupies roughly a quarter of the continental U.S. width-wise, but Alaska’s long tails extend from California to Florida.

It’s easy to forget the Aleutian Islands’ 1,200 miles of westward reach, as well as the eastward span of the Alaska Panhandle.

A larger version of the map is here. Thanks to Doug L. for the inspiration.