The vertical length of the continental United States is 1,582 miles, using point-to-point, straight-line measurements. There is a total land mass of 3,537,438 square miles, which includes all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In addition to the land mass, an additional 256,644 square miles in the continental United States are covered by water. According to the World Factbook published on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) website, this the United States is approximately half the size of Russia, 3/10 the size of Africa, half the size of South America, slightly larger than China and over twice the size of the European Union.
