which is the longest state in the us?

Question

my son says it is illinois. i say it is california

Answer 1

i think it's alaska

Answer 2

California is the longer than Illinois,
and Texas, from tip to toe, is maybe taller,
but they don't compare to Alaska.
Five times bigger than Texas,
and more times bigger than California,
it reaches across four lines of longitude.
From the Arctic Ocean at the Canadian border
stretching southwest across the Aleutian Islands
is, I'd guess over 1500 miles, a distance comparable
from the southern most point of Texas to Canada
and from Maine to the Florida Keys
and farther than from Illinois to California.

The second longest measure would likely be
again, in the northwest tip of Alaska
down the the southeast tip.

The two lengths make an X across the great 49th state.

Now, for the 50th state, a relatively small one, Hawaii.
Rhode Island is smaller, and it isn't even an island.
Hawaii is over a 130 islands, and is the widest state,
east to west, for sure to reach over those islands.
Those volcanic islands stretch perhaps farther,
or about as far as Alaska, the biggest state, greatest length.
Hawaii is the most isolated land on earth,
and has its own time zone, too. Unique in every way.
Such as it should be, to be a paradise.

So, it is Alaska or Hawaii? I don't know. I guess you would
count all that water since it is within the state, right?

Now, having said all that, longest could mean tallest,
or widest .
To me, longest means most distance in a straight line.
Hawaii is the widest. So while Alaska jumps out as longer,
the fun answer would be Hawaii for the longest, too.

You are better off than before, but it's still your question to answer. You make someone not just site a source,
but tell you the distance across Alaska and Hawaii,
so you can compare numbers.

It was a fun question.

Answer 3

Alaska

Answer 4

Alaska

Answer 5

Alaska

Answer 6

It's california. You are right. Illinois is way smaller than California.

Answer 7

Alaska is longer than California by 1140 KM (708 miles). Sorry mom. You were both wrong.

PS: Even Texas is longer than California.

Answer 8

alaska is the biggest but...
longest...
definatly california! I is practically all along the west coast, while Illionios is less than 1/4

but just to make sure you are talking about miles, not letters right?

Answer 9

california for sure, I live in Illinois and california is much longer!

Answer 10

Looks like a lot of folks never heard of the Aleutian Islands.

Answer 11

If you mean longest compared to width, it would be Tennessee