Quiz challenge
Which state has no land border with another U.S. state but does have a land border with Canada?
Select an answer to continue.
The correct answer is B) Alaska.
The correct answer is B) Alaska.
American geography presents plenty of fascinating spatial puzzles and unexpected spatial relationships. While most of the lower forty-eight states fit together like interlocking puzzle pieces, the full map of the United States contains unique regional anomalies. Several states share borders with international neighbors, and many form complex webbed boundaries across rivers, mountain ranges, and arbitrary lines of latitude. However, only one specific U.S. state possesses a distinct land boundary with Canada while remaining entirely detached by land from every other state in the Union. Understanding how this geographic distinction came to be requires looking closely at North American geography, history, and international treaties.
The correct answer
B) Alaska
The correct answer is B) Alaska.
Alaska is the correct choice because it is a non-contiguous U.S. state located at the northwestern extremity of the North American continent. It shares an extensive international land border with Canada to its east, spanning 1,538 miles alongside the Yukon Territory and British Columbia. Despite this long land border with an international neighbor, Alaska does not touch any other U.S. state. It is separated from the contiguous United States by hundreds of miles of Canadian territory and maritime waters. This unique geographic placement makes Alaska the only U.S. state with a foreign land border that lacks a land border with any fellow member of the Union.
More context
The land boundary between Alaska and Canada is one of the most remarkable geopolitical features in North America. The border was initially outlined in an 1825 treaty between Russia and Great Britain when Russia claimed sovereignty over Alaska. After the United States purchased Alaska in 1867, a heated territorial dispute arose between American and Canadian authorities, particularly during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s when prospectors flooded into the Yukon. The dispute was formally settled by an international tribunal in 1903, which affirmed the current boundary line. Starting in 1905, teams from the International Boundary Commission embarked on a massive effort to survey and mark the 1,538-mile border across rugged wilderness, jagged glaciated peaks, and dense boreal forests. Today, survey teams maintain a cleared twenty-foot-wide swath through forested sections along the line, creating a visible boundary vista visible even from aerial and satellite imagery.
Quick facts
- Alaska shares its land border with two Canadian jurisdictions, the Yukon Territory and the province of British Columbia.
- The border along Alaska's eastern edge follows the 141st meridian west for more than six hundred miles straight to the Arctic Ocean.
- The International Boundary Commission maintains thousands of physical monuments and markers along the border between Alaska and Canada.
- Hyder, Alaska, is the easternmost town in the state accessible by road, situated directly on the border adjacent to Stewart, British Columbia.
Sources
- International Boundary at Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve — National Park Service Alaska shares an international land boundary with Canada along Yukon and British Columbia.
- What We Do — International Boundary Commission The Canada–United States boundary includes the Alaska–Yukon and Alaska–British Columbia sections.
