I heard this term used tonight: "The lower 48." This is supposedly in reference to the "Continental United States," meaning every one but Alaska and Hawaii.
Except Hawaii is the lowest of all states, if by "low" one means "southern." Minnesota is the second "highest" state then.
How did that term ever come to be?
Key to the City: London
1 month ago
2 comments:
Maybe it's from someone who thinks Canada is a state? Wikipedia has some details:
The Lower 48
The term lower 48 may or may not include the District of Columbia (which is not part of any of the 48 states), and may or may not exclude Hawaii (which is the southern-most U.S. state). The National Geographic style guide recommends the use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of "lower 48" when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska.[15]
Ironically, or fittingly, I am typing now from what is called the low country" in South Carolina. I don't know if it's because it's located near the south side of the "Grand Strand," or if it's because of the marshes and land so close to sea level.
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