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Quiz: Can You Name the 10 Smallest States in Under 2 Minutes?

Two minutes. 10 states. Go!
United States
United States | Getty Images

The U.S. consists of 50 states, all differing in shape and size. 

Some states are so expansive that they rival entire countries in land mass and can take days to cross by car. But that's not the focus. This quiz is all about the smallest states in America; the ones you can zip across in under an hour, passing only one or two big cities along the way.

You’re probably already familiar with a handful of these tiny states. Maybe three or four come to mind right away. But can you name all 10 of the smallest states in just two minutes? Let’s find out!

How many of the smallest states did you get right? Maybe you named the top three in the first 15 seconds, but could you recall the others? Regardless of what you scored, challenge your friends to see if they can name all 10 of the smallest states in the U.S.!

BIG STATES

USA states on map: Alaska
Alaska | ilbusca/GettyImages

Did you know that you could fit 10 European countries inside Texas alone? Driving across the Lone Star State from east to west takes over 16 hours; that’s the equivalent of traveling from Hamburg, Germany, to Belgrade, Serbia, and crossing three countries along the way. And Texas isn’t even the largest! Driving through Alaska without stopping to eat or sleep can take up to two days.

While Texas and Alaska usually come to mind when you think of land mass, there are a few other massive states worth mentioning. California and Montana are also much larger than most. Out West, some states are so vast that traveling from one city to another can take hours. For instance, the drive from San Francisco to San Diego in California is nearly nine hours.

The same cannot be said for the East Coast. 

SMALL STATES

Castle Hill Lighthouse, Newport Rhode Island
Rhode Island | nikon401/GettyImages

New England is home to many of the nation’s smallest states. In fact, it takes less time to drive from Portland, Maine, to Baltimore, Maryland (crossing six states) than it does to travel from San Francisco to San Diego.

Rhode Island holds the title of the smallest state in the U.S. You can drive through it in under an hour, as it spans just 37 miles across its longest stretch. For perspective, you could fit 425 Rhode Islands inside one Alaska.

Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Delaware are typically among the states we associate with minuscule size. But there’s another that’s easy to overlook: Hawaii. By area, the Aloha State ranks as the 10th smallest state in the country.

THE UNITED STATES OF AREA

Vintage style globe showing North America
North America | samxmeg/GettyImages

The United States is remarkable for a variety of reasons, one being the diversity among its states, not only in traditions and culture, but also in geography. In New England, you can pass through several states in a single afternoon, whereas out West, reaching the next city could take hours or even days, especially in Alaska.

No matter where you live or the size of your state, every dot on the map contributes to something much larger (even if your state could fit into another hundreds of times).

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