For the benefit of some of ECN's international members who might not be familiar with the U.S. states, here's a simple outline map to let you place roughly where our American friends are located.

Keep in mind that the U.S.A. is B-I-G. The distance from east to west coasts is greater than that from Galway, Ireland to Moscow, Russia!

[Linked Image from nationalatlas.gov]

Click here for large map of U.S. Major cities

And the official postal abbreviations for each state, along with the state capital:

AK Alaska -- Juneau
AL Alabama -- Montgomery
AR Arkansas -- Little Rock
AZ Arizona -- Phoenix
CA California -- Sacramento
CO Colorado -- Denver
CT Connecticut -- Hartford
DE Delaware -- Dover
FL Florida -- Tallahassee
GA Georgia -- Atlanta
HI Hawaii -- Honolulu
IA Iowa -- Des Moines
ID Idaho -- Boise
IL Illinois -- Springfield
IN Indiana -- Indianapolis
KS Kansas -- Topeka
KY Kentucky -- Frankfort
LA Louisiana -- Baton Rouge
MA Massachusetts -- Boston
MD Maryland -- Annapolis
ME Maine -- Augusta
MI Michigan -- Lansing
MN Minnesota -- St. Paul
MO Missouri -- Jefferson City
MS Mississippi -- Jackson
MT Montana -- Helena
NC North Carolina -- Raleigh
ND North Dakota -- Bismarck
NE Nebraska -- Lincoln
NH New Hampshire -- Concord
NJ New Jersey -- Trenton
NM New Mexico -- Santa Fe
NV Nevada -- Carson City
NY New York -- Albany
OH Ohio -- Columbus
OK Oklahoma -- Oklahoma City
OR Oregon -- Salem
PA Pennsylvania -- Harrisburg
RI Rhode Island -- Providence
SC South Carolina -- Columbia
SD South Dakota -- Pierre
TN Tennessee -- Nashville
TX Texas -- Austin
UT Utah -- Salt Lake City
VA Virginia -- Richmond
VT Vermont -- Montpelier
WA Washington -- Olympia
WI Wisconsin -- Madison
WV West Virginia -- Charleston
WY Wyoming -- Cheyenne

DC District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)

{ Edited to add state capitals. }

[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 01-31-2004).]

{ Edited to add link to cities map }

[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-09-2004).]