50 amazing facts about the 50 American states

They say that to know a country is to love a country, so here are 50 fun, interesting, and downright bizarre facts about 50 US states. One for each of them. Did you know any of them before?

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Although the Mardi Gras is usually associated with New Orleans and Louisiana, the oldest Carnival celebration in the United States is actually held in Mobile, Alabama since 1699!

The state of Alaska represents 17% of the total land area of the United States, with 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km2).

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Arizona includes the hottest city in the country (Phoenix) and the Sonora Desert. However, some areas in the state have snowfalls, including the Grand Canyon!

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The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Clark County, Arkansas, is the only diamond mine in the entirety of the United States.

California has the biggest economy of any other United States. If the state was an independent nation, it would be the fifth-wealthiest country in the world, between India and Germany.

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Colorado possesses75% of the land area in the United States with an altitude of over 10,000 feet (around 3,000 meters).

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Connecticut is home to the United States Navy Submarine Museum. Among other things, you can visit the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine in the world!

64% of Fortune 500 firms are registered in Delaware, with the state government celebrating its one-millionth legal entity in 2013. In fact, the state is home to more corporations than people!

Established by Spanish conquistadors in 1565, the town of St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest settlement founded by Europeans in US territory.

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Georgia's largest city was named Terminus, Thrasherville, and Marthasville before settling with the name Atlanta.

The last state to be admitted to the Union, Hawaii is one of the most isolated population centers on Earth. The US Pacific coast, its closest landmass, is only 2,400 miles (ca. 3,862 kilometers) away!

The deepest river gorge in North America is Idaho's Hells Canyon, which is 7,900 ft (2.41 km) deep!

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The home of Abraham Lincoln, Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, in 1865.

Nicknamed the Crossroads of America, Indiana has more miles of interstate highway than any other US state!

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Despite its reputation as a rural state, Iowa has the highest literacy rate in the country and is well above the national average for high school graduates.

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Smith County, in northern Kansas, is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous United States.

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Although Kentucky is well known for its bourbon whiskey, over half of its 120 countries restrict or outright prohibit the sale of alcohol.

Originally a French colony named after Louis XIV, Louisiana is the only state to be divided into parishes (instead of counties) and derive its constitution from the Napoleonic Code.

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90% of all lobster consumed in the United States comes from Maine, America's easternmost state.

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Maryland State Flag is the royal banner of Cecil Colvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, and founder of the Maryland Colony.

Massachusetts is home to many American 'firsts', such as the first subway system, the first lighthouse, and the oldest college in the United States: Harvard University.

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Known as the Great Lakes States State, Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes and has more freshwater than any other of the 49!

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Minnesota's Mall of America is the size of 78 football fields and big enough to hold over 30 Boeing 747.

The magnolia is Missippi's state flower and state tree. It's also displayed on the new state flag, adopted in 2020.

St. Louis, Missouri, is the first modern city to host the Olympic Games.

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Montana is the only state with a triple divide, allowing water to flow into the Pacific, Atlantic, and Hudson Bay.

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Nebraska is the only state in the Union that is unicameral and nonpartisan, meaning that no representative officially belongs to either party.

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Not all of Nevada's wealth comes from casinos, the state is the leading gold producer in the United States, representing 78% of all the gold in the United States!

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One of the original thirteen colonies, New Hampshire was the first to declare independence from the British crown.

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New Jersey is the only state where all its counties are classified as metropolitan areas, most of them in either New York City or Philadelphia.

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The world’s first Atomic Bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, at the White Sands Testing Range near Alamogordo. The bomb was developed in Los Alamos, a research facility also located in New Mexico.

The first pizza place in the United States opened in New York City in 1905, starting a century-long love affair.

The Wright Brothers made the first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.

Dakota is a Sioux word meaning “friend” or “ally”.

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Ohio is the only US state to not have a rectangular state flag, which is shaped like a triangular swallowtail.

Located in the so-called tornado alley, Oklahoma has more tornadoes per square mile than any other state in the country.

Oregon has more ghost towns than any other place in the United States.

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Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is home to the world-famous, weather forecasting rodent, Punxsutawney Phil, the animal that gives its name to Groundhog Day.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in size in the United States. It covers an area of 1,214 square miles or 3,144 km2.

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Fort Mill, South Carolina, is home to the Carolina Reaper, the hottest pepper in the world!

Sturgis, South Dakota is home to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a annual gathering of over 500,000 bikers in a small town in the Black Hills.

Tennessee ties with Missouri on sharing borders with the largest number of US states. Besides Missouri, The Volunteer State is surrounded by Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

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Texas is the state with the largest number of counties: 254. Meanwhile, Delaware has the fewest, with only three.

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Utah's Great Salt Lake is four times saltier than any of the world's oceans.

Before joining the Union as the 14th state, Vermont was an independent republic for 14 years!

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More Presidents have been born in Virginia than in any other state. Namely, these are William Henry Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, George Washington, and Woodrow Wilson.

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Speaking of US Presidents, Washington is the only state to be named after one. Also, weirdly enough, is the US state with the most UFO sightings.

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West Virginia is the only US state created by the presidential proclamation, formed by the pro-Union area of Virginia during the Civil War.

The first commercially-succesful typewriter was invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1869.

Wyoming was the first US state to grant voting rights to women in 1869 and the first to elect a female governor, in 1925.

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