The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-10-24
AREA OF THE UNITED STATES

The question, "What constitutes
the area of the United States:" would
seem to the ordinary layman a simple
one, but according % Bulletin 302 OF
the United States geological survey,
it is quite the reverse. Jurisdiction
extends to a line three nautical miles
from the shore, but this strip Of sea
cannot properly be regarded as a par,
of the country. Surprising Il coun'
try to be restricted TO the sea and lake
coast, there remains a question re.
garding the bays and estuaries. To
what extent should the coast line be
followed strictly, and where should
we begin to jump across the indenta.
tions made by the sea? In this matter
one can only follow his judgment
making in each case as natural a de.
cision as possible, as no definite cri-
terion can be established. The absence
of an absolute standard Is in large
measure the cause of the discrepancy
between the tables of the census office,
made in 1881, and those Of the general
land Office, prepared in 1899, both of
which show the areas of the United
States and Of the several states and
territories.
The measurements and computations
upon which these tables we're based
were made with great care and thor.
Oughness in each case, and the results
probably represented the areas as
closely as they could be determined
at both times. Most of the differences
in these two sets of tables are triiling,
amounting to only a few square miles
or q small fraction Of one per cent,
being we'll within the limits OF error of
the plainmeter and Of the maps used.
Some of them, however, are consider.
able, and a few are explained by the
fact that more recent maps, which
changed the position Of bound aries
between states, had been used by the
land Office and it's measurement was,
o'AS AAOAC AColAy NOtlCCI olIlCI
discrepancies arose from differences
IN determining the coast lines.
Realizing the desirability of but one
government statement of areas of the
states and territories, an attempt has
been made by Frank Bond, chief
craftsman of the general land Office,
G. S. Sloane, geographer of the cen.
sus office, and Henry Gannett, geog.
rapher of the geological survey, to
come to an agreement on these figures.
The results Of their conference and
mentioned bulletin.
BY this adjustment the area of the
United States proper, which is given
as 1926, 7S9 square miles, is increased
over the census office figures by 1,lSS
square miles.
The area given for Alaska is $50. SS4
square miles. 1t is subject to consid.
cradle modification in the future as
the position of the coast line becomes
better known. The ares given for the
Philippine islands is ll5,O26 square
miles, and vas determined by the
survey of that archipelago, pre-.
pared at the instance of the Phillip.
pine census. 1t also is subject to
modification as accurate charts of the
archipelago are made. The areas of
Hawaii, GAO square miles, and Porto
Rico, 3,435 square miles, are probably
subject to only slight changes, AS the
charts from which they were measured
are quite accurate. The areas given
for the other small possessions of the
United States, Guam, 2lO square
miles, Samoa, - square miles, and
the Panama canal strip, 474 square
miles, will probably be changed in
the future as their limits become more
correctly defined,