Okay, just a little guessing here (looking at the map!)
largest state east of the MS…
I’d say either Michigan, Florida, or Illinois, but my final answer is Michigan (you know that little peninsula is kinda big.)
smallest state west of the MS
gotta be either Iowa or Louisianna. I’ll go with Louisianna.
BTW, re: made-up names – “California” as a name for the geographic region (predating the USA) was borrowed from the fictional place name of an island in the 16th-century Spanish novel Las Sergas de Esplandián.
This thread not being confusing enough, let me throw in another question: Which state has a population density closest to the national average?
Mt. Washington in New Hampshire?
Close (in height), but no.