Because of its unique history, many of the boundaries of the political divisions of the United States were artificially constructed (rather than permitted to evolve and drawn using natural features of the landscape). Therefore, many U.S. states have straight lines as boundaries, especially in the West.

States Ranked by Size (Total Area)

Maine

Hawaii

Colorado

According to Stein, the most important influences that determined the shapes of the states were the American Revolution, the construction of railroads, the proposal for the Erie Canal, and the issue of slavery. The outlines of the earliest states were often shaped by geographic boundaries, such as rivers.

Why are American states almost square or rectangle in shape? When the original colonies were established, it was not known how far it was until the West Coast. So States had Latitude parallels merely extend West. When the original colonies were established, it was not known how far it was until the West Coast.

The states are divided into smaller administrative regions, called counties in all but two states. In some states, mainly in New England, they are primarily used as judicial districts. In other states, counties have broad powers in housing, education, transportation and recreation.

A common way of referring to regions in the United States is grouping them into 5 regions according to their geographic position on the continent: the Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest.

New England

Midwest region (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin) Intermountain region (Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming)

the South

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the South is composed of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia—and Florida.

Are all 50 states represented in these regions? Six. Yes. The Great Lakes border two regions and two countries.

No, Colorado still isn’t in the Midwest. The Midwest is Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Missouri. Colorado is too far west to be part of the Midwest, in addition to having very little cultural similarity.

It used to be just “the west” before we acquired and settled what we now call the western states. Following the Civil War the region became known as the “middle west” to distinguish it from the “far west”, and later got shortened to “Midwest”. Because the mideast was already taken.

The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. …

THE WEST. The West consists of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.