Ten States, Flag Flying, Statehood and Land Mass in the United States

Land Mass in the United States

Although the United States fits in the top five countries of the world for largest population and largest land mass, it is not among the countries with these Top Five Largest and Tallest greatest facts:

**Largest Sea = South China Sea (1,149,000 square miles)
**Longest River = Nile River, East Africa (4,160 miles)
**Largest Tides = Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia (52 feet)
**Largest Reef = Great Barrier Reef, Northeast Australia (1,250 miles)
**Highest Waterfall = Angel Falls, Venezuela (3,212 feet)

In Land Mass...

America ranks number three in the world in land mass, with 3,717,800 square miles of acreage. Its states vary from the very small to medium-sized to gigantic -- Alaska and Texas -- in comparison to one another.

In addition to Texas, the U.S.'s second largest state with 267,339 square miles within the borders of the Lone Star state, these nine other states of America demonstrate the land mass diversity of the United States on the North American continent:

Fifth largest state in the U.S. = New Mexico (121,666 square miles)
Seventeenth largest state = North Dakota (70,665 sq. mi.)
Sixteenth largest state = South Dakota (77,047 sq. mi.)
Fifteenth largest state = Nebraska (77,227 sq. mi.)
Fourteenth largest state = Kansas (82,264 sq. mi)
Eighteenth largest state = Oklahoma (69,919 sq. mi.)
Twelfth largest state = Minnesota (84,068 sq. mi.)
Twenty-fifth largest state = Iowa (56,290 sq. mi.)
Twenty-sixth largest state = Wisconsin (56,154 sq. mi.)

On the map above are these ten states of America: No.11 = New Mexico; No.12 = North Dakota; No.13 = South Dakota; No.14 = Nebraska; No.15 = Kansas; No.16 = Oklahoma; No.17 = Texas; No.18 = Minnesota; No.19 = Iowa; and No.20 = Wisconsin.

Flag Flying in America...

Americans aren't bashful about flying their national flag, called the Stars and Stripes. In 2012, the following days are officially named occasions to fly the American flag in celebration:

January 1, 2012 = New Year's Day....................July 4 = American Independence Day
January 16 = Martin Luther King, Jr. Day...........September 3 = Labor Day
February 12 = Abraham Lincoln's Birthday...........September 11 = Patriot Day
February 20 = All Presidents' Day......................October 8 = Christopher Columbus Day
February 22 = George Washington's Birthday.....November 6 = National Elections Day
May 13 = Mother's Day...................................... November 11 = War Veterans Day
May 19 = Armed Forces Day..............................November 22 = Thanksgiving Day
May 28 = Memorial Day.................................December 7 = WW II Pearl Harbor Day
June 14 = Flag Day.............................................December 25 = Christmas Day
June 17 = Father's Day

Blessed Statehood...

Statehood for the states that comprise a large part of middle America always came at a price of disagreement, and sometimes, violence. But in the end, each state won its right to be part of the United States and later created its own state identifying flag (above).

For this group of ten states shown on the map above, statehood was achieved on the following dates:

New Mexico = January 6, 1912
North Dakota = November 2, 1889
South Dakota = November 2, 1889
Nebraska = March 1, 1867
Kansas = January 29, 1861
Oklahoma = November 16, 1907
Texas = December 29, 1845
Minnesota = May 11,1858
Iowa = December 28, 1846
Wisconsin = May 29,1848

Fun State Facts...

The states of the U.S. are as different in pedigree and purpose as they are in shape and size. Try cross-matching the gems of trivia below with the appropriate states:

Texas? ------------ Question No.1 = (A city in what state boasts being the geographic center of the United States, including all 50 states?)

Minnesota? ------ Question No.2 = (Which state is bordered on the east by Lake Michigan?)

Iowa? ------------- Question No.3 = (Which state hosts the Platt National Park?)

South Dakota? -- Question No.4 = (Where is the Big Bend National Park located?)

Kansas? ---------- Question No.5 = (In what state does Bismarck serve as the capital?)

Oklahoma? ------ Question No.6 = (What state was granted government land to establish a college of agriculture at its state university after the 1862 Morrill Act?)

North Dakota? -- Question No.7 = (Name one of two states responsible for reopening the slavery issue, which led to the establishment of the Republican Party?)

Wisconsin? ------ Question No.8 = (Where is the old Oregon Trail's Chimney Rock landmark?)

Nebraska? ------- Question No.9 = (What state shared its first railroad line, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, with another state's border?)

New Mexico? ---- Question No.10 = (Name a farmland state in the Corn Belt which also produces coal?)

Answers: (spelled backwards): No.1 = atokad htuos; No.2 = nisnocsiw; No.3 = amohalko; No.4 = saxet; No.5 = atokad htron; No.6 = atosennim; No.7 = sasnak; No.8 = aksarben; No.9 = ocixem wen; No.10 = awoi.