GEOGRAPHY
The States and
Provinces of the USA and Canada
*The USA is
made up of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and a number of
overseas possessions. Canada has ten provinces and three
territories.
*In Canada, the Maritime Provinces refer to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
and Prince Edward Island, and sometimes to Newfoundland (although this
is technically incorrect).
*Canada’s prairie provinces are its breadbasket; these are Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and Alberta, although Alberta is also important for its
oil and natural gas.
*Nunavut is the largest province or territory by area (but the smallest
in population; just counting provinces, Quebec is the largest by
area. Ontario is the most populous province (the Northwest
Territories are the most populous territory, but with about 42,000
people (now that Nunavut is separate), they have fewer people than
Johnson City). Prince Edward Island is the smallest province in
both area and population.
*Of the USA’s 50 states, four are called commonwealths: Virginia,
Kentucky (formerly part of Virginia), Massachusetts, and
Pennsylvania. Although they call themselves commonwealths, they
function just as the other states do.
*Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands are two US insular
areas. They are also called commonwealths, and this means that
they have a more structured relationship with the US government than do
the other US overseas territories (which are Guam, American Samoa, and
the US Virgin Islands).
*The largest state in area is Alaska, the largest in population is
California; Texas is second in both area and population. The
smallest state in area is Rhode Island, but it has the longest official
name of any state: The State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantation. The smallest state by population is Wyoming (with
even fewer people than the District of Columbia), but Alaska, despite
its size, is ranked 48th in population. Tennessee is 34th largest
by size and 16th largest by population.
*The 13 oldest states were British colonies, and most of the rest were
created out of territories purchased or conquered by the United States
government, but Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii were all independent
republics that were annexed as states, and California also briefly
existed as a republic before it became a state, although it was
essentially a puppet of the US Army, and was never really independent.
*Article IV, Section 3 of the US Constitution says that states may only
be formed with the consent of Congress, and of the state or states from
which the new state will be formed (if it is formed from one or more
existing states—if it comes from a territory, it’s all fair
game). This means that West Virginia violates the US
Constitution, but people have mostly gotten over that.
*Most states are divided into counties. Louisiana, however, is
divided into parishes, Alaska has boroughs and census areas (census
areas have no local government), and thirty-nine of Virginia’s cities
are independent of county government (as are a few other cities in the
US). Texas has more counties than any other state (254) while
Delaware has the fewest (3). Tennessee, with 95, ranks 10th among
states with the most counties.
*In both the US and Canada, the states and provinces (and to a much
lesser extent, territories, the District of Columbia, and overseas
possessions) have local powers and rights distinct from those of the
national government. However, because both countries have federal
governments, the national government supersedes the sub-national ones
when necessary.