Which of the 50 States is the most southern, most northern, most eastern, and most western?

Answer 1

hawaii, alaska, alaska, alaska.

By the way, there are several answers below that state that the Aleutian chain crosses the International Date Line. That is not true. The International Date Line takes a jog to the West to keep the Aleutians on the same date. (See map at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_date_line )

However, the Aleutians do cross the antimeridian (or 180 degree meridian), which means that they are, partially, in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Answer 2

It is true that there are no East or West poles, but almost everyone on Earth has agreed that east and west are relative to the prime meridian through Greenwich.
The International Date Line doesn't determine East or West, but is used in time measurement. The divide between East and West is the 180degree longitude line. This makes Alaska the most Easterly and the most Westerly state. The East point is Pochnoi Point (179 degrees 47 minutes East) on Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians. The West point is on Amitignak Island in the Aleutians (179 degrees 9 minutes West).

However, if you stand in the middle of the US and want to know how far East you could go before you leave the US, that point would be in Maine.

Answer 3

Alaska is the most northern and Hawaii is the most southern. Those are unambiguous because "most northern" means "closest to the north pole" and "most southern" means "closest to the south pole." The north pole and the south pole are the most northerly and southerly points on the surface.

We have, however, no most easterly or most westerly point. There is (Pooh notwithstanding) no east pole or west pole. If we take "most easterly" and "most westerly" to mean relative to the geographic center of the country, then the most easterly state is Maine and the most westerly state is Alaska. If, however, we take "most easterly" and "most westerly" to mean "highest east longitude" and "highest west longitude" (meaning longitudinal distance from the Greenwich observatory near London, England) then Alaska is both the easternmost and the westernmost state. The Aleutian Islands cross the line of 180 degrees longitude, so part of the state is at 179 degrees east longitude and part of the state is at 179 degrees west longitude. That's, howver, a result of the arbitrary choice of Greenwich as the zero point for longitude; in the unlikely event that we should move the zero point to pass through the Dubai International Airport, then by that method the easternmost and westernmost state would be Washington.

Answer 4

Hawaii is the most southern: reason most of the islands are south of the tropic of cancer meaning with the exception of a few islands most of the state is south of 23.5 degrees latitude.

The reason why Alaska is the most eastern- Semisopochnoi island (part of the Part of the Rats Island one of the four groups in the Aleutians) is technically the most eastern part of the United States located- 179 degrees 46'E as it sits 14 minutes west of 180 degrees thus putting it in the eastern hemisphere. Meaning this makes the state of Alaska the most eastern. Of course Alaska also is the most northern and western.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semisopochnoi

*Indeed this island doesn't cross the international do to the fact of wanting to keep it on the same date. If this doesn't count then it's Maine- Sail Island located just offshore from West Quoddy Head, Maine.

Answer 5

The most northern is Alaska
The most southern is Hawaii
The most western is Alaska
The most eastern is Alaska

The most northern continentally is Minnesota
The most southern continentally is Florida
The most eastern continentally is Maine
The most western continentally is Washington

The reason why Alaska is the most eastern is because it crosses the international dateline

Answer 6

Most southern : Florida
Most northen: Alaska
Most eastern: Maine
Most western: Hawaii

Answer 7

south hawaii
west alaska
east maine
north alaska

Answer 8

alaska.. pretty sure north east and west
hawaii south

Answer 9

florida, alaska, alaska, alaska