lower 48
Not Alaska, Hawaii
The lower 48 refers to the contiguous United States—all states except Alaska and Hawaii.
The term reflects geography from Alaska's perspective, where the rest of the country lies to the south: I'm flying to the lower 48 for Christmas.
Also called the continental United States, though that technically excludes only Hawaii.
- mainlandPrincipal connected territory
- continentalOf a continent
- conterminousSharing a boundary completely
- USANorth American nation, abbr.
- statesModes of being
small town USA · road trips · continental United States · cross-country travel · open road · driving distance · truck stops · Midwest · rural America · southwest · Rocky Mountains · northeast · Great Plains · continental US · Appalachia · industrial hubs · East Coast · West Coast
us geographic/political division
lower 48Alaska
America's frozen northwest
Hawaii · US territories · U.S. territories · Puerto Rico · Guam