water area of the United States Alaska has the largest water area

U.S. States by Water Area

Last updated on December 19th, 2023 at 10:22 am

Advertisements

The United States has 264,837 sq mi or 685,924 square kilometres of area covered by water. By this, the U.S. is the third largest country by water area in the world. It falls behind Russia and Canada, the no. 1 and no. 2 largest water area respectively.

What is a water area?

By water area, the Census Bureau of the United States says it is an area that is covered by perennial waters. They flow through the year situated within an area. This article shows you what per cent of your state is covered by water. You will see which state has the highest percentage of water area.

Largest U.S. State by Water Area

I would have been surprised to see the State of Alaska has the largest area in the U.S. with 665,384 square miles without being the largest by water area.

Advertisements

But the state which is spectacularly unique for its wide open spaces doesn’t disappoint. It remains in the no. 1 spot as the U.S. largest state by water area and land area. The water area of Alaska is 94,743 square miles (sq mi) or 245,383 square kilometer (sq.km).

Alaska’s water area is 54,568 sq mi more than the water of the State of Michigan. Michigan comes second covering 40,175 sq mi or 104,052 sq.km of water.

Also Read:  34 Countries Currently In A State of War

Surprisingly, Michigan is the 11th largest by total area while Texas which has the second-largest area is the eighth by water area. This means 41.54 per cent of Michigan’s total area is covered by water.

Michigan’s water area is three times more than the water area of Florida, standing at 12,133 sq mi or 31,424 sq.km. Wisconsin and Louisiana are fourth and fifth with 11,339 sq mi and 9,174 sq mi respectively.

Smallest U.S. States by Water Area

West Virginia (192 sq mi), New Mexico (292 sq mi), Arizona (396 sq mi), New Hampshire (397 sq mi), and Vermont (400 sq mi) are the five smallest U.S. states by water area.

  • Less than 1% of the area of West Virginia is covered by water.
  • 0.2% of New Mexico has perennial waters.
  • 0.35% of Arizona area is covered by water
  • 4.25% of New Hampshire is covered by perennial waters
  • 4.16% of Vermont’s area is covered by water.

The table below shows the water area of the 50 U.S. states including the District of Columbia and its territories:

RankStateWater Area
1Alaska94,743 sq mi
245,383 sq.km
2Michigan40,175 sq mi
104,052 sq.km
3Florida12,133 sq mi
31,424 sq.km
4Wisconsin11,339 sq mi
29,367 sq.km
5Louisiana9,174 sq mi
23,761 sq.km
6California7,916 sq mi
20,501 sq.km
7New York7,429 sq mi
19,240 sq.km
8Texas7,365 sq
19,075 sq.km
9Minnesota7,309 sq mi
18,930 sq.km
10North Carolina5,201 sq mi
13,471 sq.km
11Washington4,842 sq mi
12,542 sq.km
12Maine4,537 sq mi
11,750 sq.km
13Hawaii4,509 sq mi
11,678 sq.km
14Ohio3,965 sq mi
10,269 sq.km
15Virginia3,285 sq mi
8,508 sq.km
16Massachusetts2,754 sq mi
7,134 sq.km
17Utah2,727 sq mi
7,064 sq.km
18Maryland2,699 sq mi
6,990 sq.km
19Illinois2,395 sq mi
6,202 sq.km
20Oregon2,391 sq mi
6,191 sq.km
21South Carolina1,960 sq mi
5,076 sq.km
22Georgia1,912 sq mi
4,951 sq.km
23Alabama1,775 sq mi
4,597 sq.km
24North Dakota1,698 sq mi
4,397 sq.km
25Mississippi1,509 sq mi
3,907 sq.km
26Montana1,494 sq mi
3,869 sq.km
27New Jersey1,368 sq mi
3,544 sq.km
28Pennsylvania1,312 sq mi
3,397 sq.km
29South Dakota1,305 sq mi
3,379 sq.km
30Oklahoma1,304 sq mi
3,377 sq.km
31Arkansas1,143 sq mi
1,143 sq.km
32Missouri965 sq mi
2,501 sq.km
33Idaho926 sq mi
2,398 sq.km
34Kentucky921 sq mi
2,387 sq.km
35Tennessee909 sq mi
2,355 sq.km
36Nevada791 sq mi
2,048 sq.km
37Wyoming720 sq mi
1,864 sq.km
38Connecticut701 sq mi
1,816 sq.km
39Indiana593 sq mi
1,537 sq.km
40Delaware540 sq mi
1,399 sq.km
41Nebraska524 sq mi
1,356 sq.km
42Kansas520 sq mi
1,346 sq.km
43Rhode Island511 sq mi
1,324 sq.km
44Colorado452 sq mi
1,170 sq.km
45Iowa416 sq mi
1,077 sq.km
46Vermont400 sq mi
1,035 sq.km
47New Hampshire397 sq mi
1,027 sq.km
48Arizona396 sq mi
1,026 sq.km
49New Mexico292 sq mi
757 sq.km
50West Virginia192 sq mi
497 sq.km
Territories
Island Areas3257 sq mi
8,436 sq.km
Puerto Rico1,901 sq mi
4,924 sq.km
Northern Mariana Islands1,793 sq mi
4,644 sq.km
U.S. Virgin Islands599 sq mi
1550 sq.km
American Samoa505 sq mi
1,307 sq.km
Guam361 sq mi
935 sq.km
District of Columbia7 sq mi
19 sq.km

Which U.S. state has the largest water area?

The State of Alaska has the highest water area in the United States which is 245,383 square kilometers (or 94,743 square miles).

Also Read:  Two-Letter Abbreviations of States in The U.S.

Alaska also has 26,119 sq mi coastal area or 67,647 square kilometers. Some of its popular rivers include Kuskokwim River, Koyukuk River, and Yukon River among others.

What percentage of Alaska is covered by water?

With many rivers across Alaska, the water area of Alaska accounts for 14.23% of the state’s total area. In land area, water area, and total area, Alaska is the largest.

How many U.S. states have no water area?

All the 50. U.S. States have water areas including its territories and the District of Columbia. However, West Virginia has the smallest water area among the states. It has 192 sq mi or 497 sq.km of water area.

What is the area of the United States covered by water?

264,837 square miles or 685,924 square kilometers, 42,337 sq mi coastal and 60,094 sq mi great lakes, according to the United States Census Bureau.

What percentage of Florida is water?

Florida’s total area is 65,758 sq mi, and its water area is 12,133 sq mi, which means 18.45% of Florida is covered by water.

Conclusion:

If the total area of the U.S. is 3,796,742 sq mi and 264,837 sq mi part of the area is covered by water, it means 6.97% of the U.S. is covered by perennial waters.

Featured image

Author

  • Opeyemi Quadri

    Ope is a finance writer and researcher with 10+ years of experience in content creation. His interests cut across decentralized finance, investment, foreign exchange, government policies and politics.

Also Read:  Timeline of Tax Revenue Collections in Nigeria (1999-Present)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top