Top Ten Largest States in the United States

10. Wyoming 

-97,813.56 square miles

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_WY.svg

A state in the Mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High Plains.

9. Oregon
-98,380.64 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_OR.svg

A state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern boundaries, respectively.

8. Colorado
-104,093.57 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_CO.svg

A U.S. state that encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Mountain States, and the Southwestern United States.

7. Nevada
-110,560.71 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_NV.svg

A state located in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its three largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City.

 6. Arizona
-113,998.30 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_AZ.svg

A state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix.

5. New Mexico
-121,589.48 square miles

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_NM.svg

A state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also part of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S. state.

4. Montana
-147,042.40 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_MT.svg

A state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish] word montaña (mountain).

3. California
-163,695.57 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_CA.svg

A state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's 50 most populous cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland).

2. Texas
-268,580.82 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_TX.svg

The second-largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas.

1. Alaska
-663,267.26 square miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_USA_AK_full.svg

A state situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately half of Alaska's 710,231 residents (as per the 2010 United States Census) live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska is the least densely populated state of the U.S.

SOURCES:
http://www.infoplease.com/toptens/largeststates.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colaradohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_mexico
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska