20 Geography Myths About the United States, Explained

# Overview This brief summarizes 20 geography misconceptions about the United States and gives the factual corrections reported in the article.

# Quick list of the 20 misconceptions and corrections

1) "Canada is always north of the United States." — Incorrect. Parts of Canada and the U.S. create border situations where that simple rule doesn't always hold.

2) "Florida is the southernmost state." — Incorrect. The U.S. has territory (and parts of other states) that extend farther south than the Florida mainland.

3) "The Rocky Mountains are super old." — Incorrect. The Appalachians formed about 480 million years ago and are much older than the Rockies, which formed about 55–80 million years ago.

4) "'Upstate' New York is everything north of New York City." — Incorrect. The term has cultural and regional meanings that don't simply map to latitude.

5) "Los Angeles is the westernmost major city in the contiguous United States." — Incorrect. Other cities further west in the contiguous U.S. qualify as more westerly.

6) "Major American rivers all flow south." — Incorrect. Many rivers flow north, including Florida's St. Johns River and the Red River of the North.

7) "The Great Lakes are entirely within the United States." — Incorrect. Several Great Lakes lie on or across the U.S.–Canada border.

8) "American deserts are all very hot." — Incorrect. The Great Basin Desert, the largest U.S. desert, is a cold desert characterized by sagebrush, not sand dunes.

9) "The only rainforests in the United States are in Hawaii." — Incorrect. The article indicates other U.S. regions host rainforests as well.

10) "The vast majority of U.S. land is privately owned." — Incorrect. Public lands account for a substantial portion of U.S. territory in many states.

11) "Kansas is the geographic center of the United States." — Incorrect. The true geographic center depends on whether you include territories and how you calculate center points.

12) "State capitals are always major cities." — Incorrect. Many state capitals are not the largest or most prominent cities in their states.

15) "Wyoming and Colorado are perfect rectangles." — Incorrect. Their borders include deviations and aren't perfect geometric rectangles.

16) "The Everglades is a swamp." — Incorrect. The Everglades is a complex ecosystem, more accurately described as a slow-moving river of grass rather than a simple swamp.

18) "The Colorado River is a mighty river (compared to the Mississippi)." — Incorrect. The Colorado is much smaller than the Mississippi and, because of dams and water diversions, sometimes does not reach the ocean.

20) "Alaska is about half the size of the contiguous United States." — Incorrect. Alaska covers about 585,000 square miles, roughly one-sixth of the contiguous U.S., and map projections such as Mercator distort its apparent size.

# What this list changes about common understanding

# How to use this brief Use the list to check commonly repeated geography claims. If you need an authoritative determination (for example, about centers or lengths), be sure to check the exact definitions used and whether territories are included.