Curated category
Contiguous United States
- AlabamaThe name Alabama comes from a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived near the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers.
- KentuckyThe word Kentucky first appeared on European maps in the mid-18th century, yet its true meaning remains a subject of debate among historians and linguists.
- MississippiAround 9500 BC, the first human groups arrived in what is now Mississippi. These Paleo-Indians hunted megafauna that would soon vanish from the landscape.
- MinnesotaThe earth beneath Minnesota holds rocks that are 3.6 billion years old, making them some of the oldest on the planet. These ancient gneisses formed during a…
- West VirginiaWest Virginia is a landlocked state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It covers an area that makes it the 10th-smallest state by…
- ArkansasIn 1881, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law to settle a debate over how to say the state's name. They declared that the final s must be silent and…
- New MexicoWheeler Peak rises to 13,167 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This highest point anchors a state where over four-fifths of the land sits above sea…
- TexasThe Caddo people controlled much of northeastern Texas along the Red, Sabine, and Neches River basins when European explorers first arrived.
- TennesseeThe name Tennessee comes from a Cherokee town called Tanasi, located in present-day Monroe County. Spanish explorer Juan Pardo encountered a village named…
- MaineFor about 12,000 years before any European ship touched the shore, Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples inhabited the territory now known as Maine.
- Washington, D.C.On the 16th of July 1790, President George Washington signed the Residence Act into law. This bill approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac…
- LouisianaThe Watson Brake site near present-day Monroe stands as the oldest mound complex in North America. Archaeologists date this eleven-mound structure to…
- North CarolinaThe Hardaway Site in North Carolina dates back 10,000 years to the earliest evidence of human occupation. Before 200 AD, people built earthwork platform…
- OklahomaIn 1865, Choctaw Nation Chief Allen Wright stood before federal negotiators and proposed a new name for the territory. He chose words from his own language…
- South CarolinaThe Atlantic Ocean meets the land along South Carolina's eastern edge, creating a landscape defined by salt marshes and barrier islands.
- ArizonaThe air in Phoenix reaches 106 degrees Fahrenheit during July, yet Flagstaff sits at nearly 7,000 feet and sees snow fall every winter.
- CaliforniaBefore the first Spanish ship touched the Pacific shore in 1542, at least three hundred thousand people lived across what is now California.
- DelawareOn the 7th of December 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. This single act earned it the enduring nickname…
- IllinoisArchaeologists have uncovered evidence of continuous human habitation at the Koster Site in Union County, Illinois, spanning 7,000 years.
- PennsylvaniaThe Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Jefferson Township holds the earliest known signs of human activity in Pennsylvania, with remains dating back over 10,000…
- Georgia (U.S. state)On the 12th of February 1733, British General James Oglethorpe established the Province of Georgia in Savannah. This settlement occurred one year after the…
- MarylandIn March of 1634, a small fleet of ships carrying two hundred settlers arrived at the north shore of the Potomac River. They carried the name of their new…
- MissouriMissouri stretches across the heart of the United States, bordered by eight other states. This geographic fact makes it a unique connector in the American…
- FloridaThe first recorded human presence in Florida dates back at least 14,000 years to the Paleo-Indians who entered the peninsula.
- VirginiaIn 1607, the London Company established Jamestown as the first permanent English settlement in North America. This event marked a turning point for the…