Ever looked at a map in a middle school classroom and thought the world looked kinda... stretched? If you've ever stared at a standard wall map and wondered how one single state seems to be trying to swallow the rest of the country, you aren't crazy. It's the maps. Specifically, it's the Mercator projection, which makes everything near the poles look absolutely massive.
But even when you strip away the map-making tricks, the answer to what is largest state in the united states is still a bit of a shocker.
It’s Alaska. By a lot.
Most people know it’s big. They just don't realize that "big" doesn't quite cover it. We're talking about a landmass so huge that it makes Texas—the pride of the contiguous U.S.—look like a junior varsity player. Honestly, the sheer scale of the place is hard to wrap your head around until you see the numbers.
Alaska: The Absolute Unit of the Union
When people ask what is largest state in the united states, they usually expect a competition. But there is no competition. Alaska is 665,384 square miles. To put that in perspective, you could take Texas, California, and Montana—the next three largest states—and shove them all inside Alaska's borders.
You’d still have room left over for a good chunk of the East Coast.
- Total Area: 665,384 square miles
- Land Area: 570,641 square miles
- Water Area: 94,743 square miles
It’s basically its own continent. If you split Alaska into two equal halves, Texas would suddenly become the third largest state. That's a fun fact Alaskans love to use whenever they meet someone from the Lone Star State. It’s a bit of friendly geographical shade, but the math doesn't lie.
The Coastline Nobody Talks About
Size isn't just about land. If you measured the coastline of the entire United States, Alaska owns more than half of it. We're talking 6,640 miles of coastline. If you include all the little islands and inlets, that number jumps to over 33,000 miles.
✨ Don't miss: Historic Sears Building LA: What Really Happened to This Boyle Heights Icon
Compare that to Florida. People think of Florida as the "coastline state," but it only has about 1,350 miles. Alaska is on a different level.
Why Maps Make Alaska Look Even Bigger (And Sometimes Smaller)
Here is where it gets weird. Depending on which map you’re looking at, Alaska is either an oversized monster or a tiny island floating next to Hawaii in a box at the bottom left corner.
Most digital maps use the Mercator projection. Because the Earth is a sphere and maps are flat, things get distorted as you move away from the equator. Since Alaska is way up north, it gets stretched out. On some maps, it looks as big as the entire continental U.S., which isn't true. The "Lower 48" is still about 4.7 times larger than Alaska.
But then you have the schoolbook maps. To save space, publishers often put Alaska and Hawaii in little inset boxes. This makes Alaska look roughly the size of a medium-sized county in Nebraska.
It’s a total lie.
If you actually laid Alaska over the contiguous U.S., the "panhandle" (where Juneau is) would touch Florida, and the Aleutian Islands (those islands trailing off to the west) would reach all the way to California. It spans four time zones. Well, it would span four time zones, but the state government eventually synced most of the state to "Alaska Time" just to make life easier for businesses.
The "Seward's Folly" That Wasn't
Back in 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward bought this giant chunk of land from Russia for $7.2 million. At the time, people thought he was an idiot. They called it "Seward's Icebox" and "Seward's Folly."
🔗 Read more: Why the Nutty Putty Cave Seal is Permanent: What Most People Get Wrong About the John Jones Site
They stopped laughing pretty quickly.
First came the gold. Then came the fish. Then came the timber. And then, the big one: oil. Today, that $7.2 million looks like the greatest real estate deal in human history. It works out to about two cents an acre.
The Geography of the Extreme
Being the largest state in the united states comes with some intense bragging rights. Alaska isn't just a big flat field; it's a vertical powerhouse.
- The Mountains: Out of the 20 highest peaks in the U.S., 17 of them are in Alaska. Denali is the king, sitting at 20,310 feet.
- The Lakes: There are over 3 million lakes. Not three thousand. Three million.
- The Volcanoes: There are more than 130 active volcanoes. The Aleutian Islands are basically a giant volcanic mountain range poking out of the sea.
- The Glaciers: About 5% of the state is covered in ice. That sounds small until you realize 5% of Alaska is bigger than the entire state of South Carolina.
Why People Get the Size Wrong
A lot of the confusion comes from how we experience travel. In the Lower 48, you can drive through three states in a single afternoon if you're on the East Coast. In Alaska, you can drive for twelve hours and still be in the same "neighborhood."
And "drive" is a generous term.
Most of Alaska isn't even connected by roads. You can't drive to Juneau, the capital. You have to take a boat or a plane. Only about 20% of the state is accessible by the road system. This makes the "bigness" feel even more extreme because so much of it is raw, untouched wilderness.
Population Density: The Loneliest State
If you took the entire population of Manhattan and put them in Alaska, the population density would still be lower than almost anywhere else on Earth. There’s roughly one person for every square mile.
💡 You might also like: Atlantic Puffin Fratercula Arctica: Why These Clown-Faced Birds Are Way Tougher Than They Look
If New York City had the same population density as Alaska, only about 15 or 20 people would live in the entire borough of Manhattan.
Practical Takeaways for Your Next Trivia Night
If you're trying to win an argument or just want to understand the scale of the country, remember these points:
- Alaska is double the size of Texas. If you ever hear a Texan bragging about size, just mention that Alaska is 2.47 times larger.
- The "East-West" trick. Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost, AND easternmost state. Wait, easternmost? Yep. Some of the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian, technically putting them in the Eastern Hemisphere.
- The 17% Rule. Alaska makes up about 17% of the total land area of the entire United States.
If you're planning a trip to see what is largest state in the united states for yourself, don't try to see it all in a week. You wouldn't try to see the entire East Coast in five days, and Alaska is bigger than that. Focus on one region—like the Kenai Peninsula or the Interior—and accept that the "Great Land" is just too big to be conquered in one go.
To truly wrap your head around the scale, use an "equal area" map projection or a site like The True Size Of. When you drag Alaska over the Midwest and see it covering ten different states at once, the reality finally sinks in. It’s not just a state; it’s an empire of ice, mountains, and ridiculously long summer days.
Next time you see those little inset boxes on a map, remember that they're hiding a giant. Alaska isn't just the largest state; it's the anchor of the North American wilderness.
To get a real sense of this scale before you visit, check out the official Alaska Department of Natural Resources maps, which use specific projections to show the state's true proportions without the Mercator stretch. Looking at the "Railbelt" area vs. the rest of the state will show you just how much of that 665,000 square miles remains truly wild.