Rivers and Oceans
Excluding Alaska and Hawaii, this is the total number of U.S. states that directly border the Pacific Ocean.
What is 3?
(Note: The 3 states are Washington, Oregon, and California)
This is the largest U.S. state by land area—so big that it’s more than twice the size of Texas.
What is Alaska?
It’s not just a color; this 'Bluegrass State' is famous for its horse racing and the Kentucky Derby.
What is Kentucky?
This city, named for a famous frontiersman, is the capital of Texas and is known as the 'Live Music Capital of the World'.
What is Austin?
This 'Silver State' borders California to the west and is famous for the city of Las Vegas.
What is Nevada?
It's the 'Fast' name for the 'Island' state that is the smallest in the U.S.
What is Rhode Island?
Sharing its name with a famous explorer, this is the only U.S. state capital that starts with the letter 'C' and is located in Ohio.
What is Columbus?
This southern state is known as the 'Peach State,' though it is also a top producer of pecans and peanuts.
It is the only U.S. state capital that also borders a foreign country—specifically, it sits across the river from British Columbia, Canada.
What is Juneau?
This river forms nearly the entire border between the states of New York and New Jersey before flowing past the Statue of Liberty.
What is the Hudson River?
From Maine to Florida, this is the total number of U.S. states that have a coastline along the Atlantic Ocean.
What is 14?
(Note: the states are Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.)
This 'Windy City' in Illinois is the third-most populous in the U.S. and sits right on the shores of Lake Michigan.
What is Chicago?
Because of its history of people 'sneaking' across the border to claim land early, this state is known as the 'Sooner State'.
What is Oklahoma?
If you want to visit the capital of New York, you won't head to NYC; you'll head north to this city on the Hudson River.
What is Albany?
If you are standing at the 'Four Corners' monument, you are at the intersection of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and this 'Colorful' state.
What is Colorado?
This state is the only one in the Union that features a coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
What is Florida?
(Note: While several states border the Atlantic and others border the Gulf, Florida is the peninsula that separates them, giving it the longest coastline in the contiguous United States.)
Located in Alaska, this mountain is the highest peak in North America, standing at over 20,000 feet.
HINT: D _ _ _ _ I
What is Denali?
D E N A L I
This 'Mountaineer State' was the only one to form by seceding from a Confederate state during the Civil War.
What is West Virginia?
This city is the only state capital that is not served by any Interstate highway.
What is Pierre?
To the north, this 'Bluegrass State' is separated from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois by the waters of the Ohio River.
What is Kentucky?
Though the Missouri River is technically longer, this 'Mighty' waterway holds the record for passing through or bordering the most U.S. states at 10.
What is the Mississippi River?
(Note: The 10 states are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.)
This 'Golden State' contains both the highest point in the contiguous U.S., Mount Whitney, and the lowest point, Death Valley.
What is Califorinia?
Portland is a major city in Oregon, but it is also the most populous city in this 'Pine Tree State' on the Atlantic coast.
What is Maine?
While it sounds like it should be in Europe, this capital of Georgia was actually named 'Terminus' before it got its current name.
What is Atlanta?
Due to a surveying error in the 1700s, a 40-mile wide 'notch' of this state's northern border was accidentally given to Massachusetts, though it still borders New York to the west.
What is Connecticut?
(Note: If you look at a map, you'll see a small square "dent" in the top of Connecticut where Massachusetts drops down. It's known as the 'Southwick Jog'!)