Editing Contiguous United States (section)

=== Hawaii ===

The territory of [[Hawaii]], consisting of the entire [[Hawaiian Islands]] archipelago except for [[Midway Atoll]],{{efn|Midway is an unorganized and unincorporated territory of the United States.}} became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost U.S. state, and the latest one to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the [[Pacific Ocean]], about {{convert|2200.|mi|km}} from North America and almost halfway between North America and [[Asia]]. In Hawaii and [[Insular area|overseas American territories]], for instance, the terms ''the Mainland''  or ''U.S. Mainland'' are often used to refer to the 49 states in North America.<ref>Edles, Laura Desfor (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=aAdzAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241 {{"'}}Race,' 'Ethnicity,' and 'Culture' in Hawai'i: The Myth of the 'Model Minority' State"]. In Loretta I. Winters and Herman L. DeBose (ed.) ''New Faces in a Changing America: Multiracial Identity in the 21st Century''. SAGE Publications. p. 241. {{ISBN|9780761923008}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hyslop|first=Stephen G.|title=Political Geography of the United States|publisher=[[Guilford Press]]|date= April 5, 1996|page=65}}</ref>