Editing Contiguous United States (section)

=== Continental and mainland United States ===
{{Redirect|Continental United States|the continental shelf|Continental shelf of the United States}}
Because [[Alaska]] is also a part of [[North America]], the term '''''continental United States''''' also includes that state, so the term is qualified with the explicit inclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity.<ref name="rhwcd" /><ref>{{cite web |quote=The ''continental United States'' comprises the 48 contiguous, or conterminous, states plus Alaska. |url=http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/C/conterminous-contiguous-continental |title=National Geographic Style Manual |access-date=April 4, 2012 |archive-date=January 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102075245/http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/C/conterminous-contiguous-continental |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unitedcargo.com/help/glossary.jsp?pageIndex=C |title=United Cargo website |quote=''Continental United States'': The 48 adjoining states, Alaska and District of Columbia. |access-date=April 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402170349/http://www.unitedcargo.com/help/glossary.jsp?pageIndex=C |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alaskaair.com/as/mileageplan/AwardsUSACanada.asp |title=Alaska Airlines website |quote=The Continental U.S. includes the lower 48 states as well as the State of Alaska, unless otherwise specified. |access-date=April 4, 2012 |archive-date=February 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221004501/http://www.alaskaair.com/as/mileageplan/awardsUSACanada.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> On May 14, 1959, the [[United States Board on Geographic Names]] issued the following definitions based partially on the reference in the Alaska Omnibus Bill, which defined the continental United States as "the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia..." The Board reaffirmed these definitions on May 13, 1999.<ref name=usgs.gov/> However, even before Alaska became a state, it was properly included within the continental U.S. due to being an [[Territories of the United States#Incorporated vs. unincorporated territories|incorporated territory]].<ref>"In the absence of any such statement, Alaska would be regarded as a part of the continental United States." [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.74425 <!-- quote=alaska "continental united states". --> Inland Marine and Transportation Insurance (1949)]</ref>

The term '''''mainland United States''''' is sometimes used synonymously with ''continental United States'', but technically refers only to those parts of states connected to the landmass of North America, thereby excluding not only [[Hawaii]] and overseas [[insular area]]s, but also islands which are part of continental states but separated from the mainland, such as the [[Aleutian Islands]] ([[Alaska]]), [[San Juan Islands]] ([[Washington (state)|Washington]]), the [[Channel Islands (California)|Channel Islands]] ([[California]]), [[Florida Keys|the Keys]] ([[Florida]]), the [[barrier island]]s ([[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf]] and [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] states), and [[Long Island]] (New York).<ref>{{cite book|last=Hyslop|first=Stephen G.|title=Political Geography of the United States|publisher=[[Guilford Press]]|date= April 5, 1996|pages=105–110}}</ref>