The smallest U.S. State by land area is The State of Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations at just over 2700 square kilometers (not including the ocean). This little group of islands also holds the title of State with the Longest Name! The Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the District of Columbia are all smaller geographically, but are not considered to be states.

Rhode Island joined the United States in 1790; they were the 13th state to join. An interesting fact about Rhode Island is that its state rock, Cumberlandite, can only be found in the city of Cumberland, and nowhere else in the world. What makes this rock unique, is that it can be manufactured into gun powder. This resource was heavily mined during the American Civil War. Rhode Island was the only state to not ratify, and expressly reject Prohibition in 1919.

The smallest state by population is Wyoming at almost 510,000 people. Wyoming is home to the United State’s first National Park, Yellowstone in 1872. It was also the first state to allow women to vote (1869), to allow women to serve on juries, and had the first female Governor; Nellie Tayloe Ross; elected in 1924. Over 48% of Wyoming is federally owned, mostly in the form of national parks and monuments.

Want to know what is the biggest state in the US?