# California is not "America's largest state." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244 "2003-10-08T06:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/1 "2003-10-08T06:38:27Z")
It is, in fact, America’s most populous state. But not the largest. Not by a longshot. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/2 "2003-10-08T06:42:34Z")
Thanks for clearing that up? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/3 "2003-10-08T06:48:56Z")
I just get pissed off by “journalists” for alledgedly reputable news sources not understanding the difference between “large” and “populous.” From [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/recall.main/index.html): > [@](#): > > “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno introduced the movie action hero as “the governor of the great state of California,” as Schwarzenegger prepared to become chief executive of **America’s largest state** and the world’s fifth largest economy. From [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/08/national/nationalspecial3/08CALI.html?hp): > [@](#): > > With nearly 30 percent of the votes counted, the recall question on the two-part ballot was passing 55 percent to 44 percent, closely mirroring results from a survey of voters conducted for The New York Times and other news organizations. The interviews with more than 4,000 voters showed deep dissatisfaction with Mr. Davis’s performance in office and a profound desire for change in direction in **California, the nation’s largest state.** And so on. It really pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/4 "2003-10-08T06:57:27Z")
Think maybe they are referring to electoral votes? Dreams of 2004 dance in their heads…Bushies have locked Florida, Texas and now…California. Hoorah, applause, vomit ☹ Yeah, it pisses me off too, everyone knows that Texas is the **BIGGEST** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/5 "2003-10-08T07:14:57Z")
pssst, **t-keela**. Tejas ain’t the largest state no more. We added another one up north a while back that’s bigger. I believe it’s called “Canada”. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/6 "2003-10-08T07:48:13Z")
Bullshit, Canada is a territory of the United States… they can’t vote can they? Shit…I guess Bob Barker will be running for something next. 😃 BTW I was lost in this other thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=216081&goto=newpost](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=216081&goto=newpost) **HELP** ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/7 "2003-10-08T09:44:51Z")
I thought the biggest state in the U.S. was George Bush’s Ego. Either that or his stupidity, can’t tell which is bigger ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/8 "2003-10-08T10:02:55Z")
Alaska’s got 'em both whupped badly. Alaska: 571, 951 sq. mi. Texas: 261,797 sq. mi. California: 155,959 sq. mi. > **[The United States: Information & Statistics By State](https://www.infoplease.com/us/states)** > > Click here to learn more information about the 50 States of America including maps, facts, historical information and more. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/9 "2003-10-08T11:01:50Z")
Not if it melted. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/10 "2003-10-08T11:34:27Z")
Only 5% of its land mass (~28,500 sq miles) is covered by glaciers. Therefore, even if it melted, it would still be more than twice the size of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/11 "2003-10-08T12:46:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by t-keela \* > \*\* > Dreams of 2004 dance in their heads…Bushies have locked Florida, Texas and now…California. Hoorah, applause, vomit ☹ > \*\* If controlling a Governorship were the same as controlling the state’s electoral votes, the Reps should have carried New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/12 "2003-10-08T13:13:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Governor Quinn \* > \*\*If controlling a Governorship were the same as controlling the state’s electoral votes, the Reps should have carried New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in 2000. \*\* Yeah… to steal the premise of a BBC article I just read, Arnold is pro-choice, he’s NOT particularly anti-gay, and he’s married to a freaking KENNEDY. His election does not mean that California has turned into a bunch of right-wing reactionaries, and he does not by any means guarantee that California will go to the Bushies. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/13 "2003-10-08T13:26:44Z")
The OP assumes that the word “state” refers only to the ground on which the state is built. A case could be made that the population **is** the state. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/14 "2003-10-08T13:35:18Z")
A state is truly measured by its coastline. ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/15 "2003-10-08T13:44:33Z")
No, a state is measured by its abundance of corn. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/16 "2003-10-08T14:02:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Alaska’s got 'em both whupped badly. > > Alaska: 571, 951 sq. mi. > Texas: 261,797 sq. mi. > California: 155,959 sq. mi. > > [http://www.infoplease.com/states.html](http://www.infoplease.com/states.html) \*\* Who measures these things? [(cite?)](http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/area.shtml) 656,425 square miles for Alaska here - that’s damn near 85000 sq. miles that has ‘all melted away’ in your cite. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/17 "2003-10-08T14:59:31Z")
The biggest state in the country is the state of denial. It seems everyone lives there. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/18 "2003-10-08T16:18:51Z")
I have no idea what I was watching but I recently saw something on TV that was evidently filmed at the University of Texas. The hostess was asking college students some trivia questions, including, “What’s the largest state?” They had one person say “Alaska.” Everyone else said “California” or “Texas”; one even said “Hawaii” until he switched to “Texas.” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/19 "2003-10-08T16:29:35Z")
Unless the context is specifically physical geography, then I always assume that “largest” means “most populous”, or “having the largest economy”. By that yardstick California wins. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244/20 "2003-10-08T16:49:09Z")
Looks like CNN replaced “largest” with “most populous” in their article. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-not-americas-largest-state/206244.md?page=2)