34!4%3
fter every state name is the postal abbreviation. The Area
includes both land and water; it is given in square
miles (sq. mi.) and square kilometers (sq. km.). Numbers in
parentheses after Population, Area, and Entered Union show
the state’s rank compared with other states. City populations
are for mid-2005.
ALABAMA
(AL) Heart of Dixie, Camellia State
POPULATION (2006): 4,599,030 (23rd) AREA: 52,419 sq. mi. (30th)
(135,765 sq. km.) Camellia Yellowhammer Southern
longleaf pine “Alabama” ENTERED UNION: December 14, 1819
(22nd) Montgomery LARGEST CITIES (WITH POP.): Birmingham,
231,483; Montgomery, 200,127; Mobile, 191,544; Huntsville, 166,313
¬
Birmingham
†
ALASKA
(AK) The Last Frontier
POPULATION (2006): 670,053 (47th) AREA: 663,267 sq. mi. (1st)
(1,717,854 sq. km.) Forget-me-not Willow ptarmigan
Sitka spruce “Alaska’s Flag” ENTERED UNION: January 3, 1959
(49th) Juneau LARGEST CITIES (WITH POP.): Anchorage, 275,043;
Fairbanks, 31,324; Juneau, 30,987; Sitka, 8,986
Anchorage
¬
Juneau
†
POPULATION (2006): 6,166,318 (16th) AREA: 113,998 sq. mi. (6th) (295,253
sq. km.) Blossom of the Saguaro cactus Cactus wren Paloverde
“Arizona” ENTERED UNION: February 14, 1912 (48th) Phoenix
LARGEST CITIES (WITH POP.): Phoenix, 1,461,575; Tucson, 515,526; Mesa,
442,780; Glendale, 239,435; Chandler, 234,939; Scottsdale, 226,013
electronic equipment, transportation and industrial equipment,
Phoenix
Tucson
(CA) Golden State
POPULATION (2006): 36,457,549 (1st) AREA: 163,696 sq. mi. (3rd)
(423,971 sq. km.) Golden poppy California valley quail
Sacramento
California redwood “I Love You, California” ENTERED UNION:
September 9, 1850 (31st) Sacramento LARGEST CITIES (WITH POP.):
¬
Los Angeles, 3,844,829; San Diego, 1,255,540; San Jose, 912,332; San
San
Francisco, 739,426; Long Beach, 474,014; Fresno, 461,116; Sacramento, Francisco
456,441; Oakland, 395,274
Los
Angeles
transportation and industrial equipment, electronic equipment, oil,
¬
natural gas, motion pictures, milk, cattle, fruit, vegetables
†
¬
In Death Valley, the hottest and driest place in the U.S., the summer
temperatures soar above 115º F. It also has the lowest elevation in
the U.S. at 282 feet below sea level.
COLORADO
San
Diego
(CO) Centennial State
POPULATION (2006): 4,753,377 (22nd) AREA: 104,094 sq. mi. (8th)
(269,602 sq. km.) Rocky Mountain columbine Lark bunting
Colorado blue spruce “Where the Columbines Grow”
ENTERED UNION: August 1, 1876 (38th) Denver LARGEST
CITIES (WITH POP.): Denver, 557,917; Colorado Springs, 369,815;
Aurora, 297,235; Lakewood, 140,671; Fort Collins, 128,026
Denver
†
¬
Colorado
Springs
instruments and industrial machinery, food products, printing
and publishing, metal products, electronic equipment, oil, coal, cattle
The Anasazi Indians built entire cities into cliffsides across the American
southwest. The settlements built between 1100 and 1300 at Mesa Verde in
southwestern Colorado are the largest and best preserved.
You can find London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, AZ.
Built in London, England, in the 1830s, the bridge was
taken down and sold to Robert P. McCulloch in 1968.
He re-assembled it on Lake Havasu in 1971.
Go to www.WAforKids.com for even more U.S. facts.
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CALIFORNIA
instruments, printing and publishing, copper and other metals
¬
†
The only working diamond mine in the U.S. is located in Murfreesboro,
AR, at Crater of Diamonds State Park. It is also the only diamondproducing site in the world that is open to the public. Visitors can keep
whatever diamonds they find.
In 1867, the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for
$7.2 million, or about 2 cents per acre. When Alaska
was admitted to the Union as the 49th state in 1959, it
increased the area of the U.S. by 20%.
(AZ) Grand Canyon State
Little Rock
machinery, metal products, lumber and wood products,
livestock, soybeans, rice, cotton, natural gas
oil, natural gas, fish, food products, lumber and wood products, fur
ARIZONA
Natural State,
Razorback State
food products, paper, electronic equipment, industrial
paper, industrial machinery, food products, lumber, coal, oil, natural
gas, livestock, peanuts, cotton
Montgomery was the capital of the Confederacy
during the early months of the Civil War between
February 18 and May 21, 1861. The Confederate
capital then moved to Richmond,
Virginia.
(AR)
POPULATION (2006): 2,810,872 (32nd) AREA: 53,179 sq. mi. (29th)
(137,733 sq. km.) Apple blossom Mockingbird Pine
“Arkansas” ENTERED UNION: June 15, 1836 (25th) Little
Rock LARGEST CITIES (WITH POP.): Little Rock, 184,564; Fort
Smith, 82,481; Fayetteville, 66,655; Springdale, 60,096
clothing and textiles, metal products, transportation equipment,
Montgomery
†
ARKANSAS
UNITED STATES
A
&!#43
About the
Key:
Flower Bird Tree Song
Capital Important Products
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