Geography, U.K. and U.S.

I've never had a particularly good sense of the size of England. If you too have had this problem and you are more familiar with the states of the U.S., here are some comparisons you can use: England (50,346 sq mi) is roughly the same size as Louisiana (51,885 sq mi). Wales (8,022 sq mi) is roughly the same size as New Jersey (8,729 sq mi). Scotland (30,414 sq mi) is roughly the same size as South Carolina (32,020 sq mi). Northern Ireland (5,345 sq mi) is roughly the same size as Connecticut (5,543 sq mi). The entire United Kingdom (94,526 sq mi) is roughly the same size as Michigan (97,990 sq mi). Ireland alone (the island) (31,521 sq mi) is also roughly the same size as South Carolina. Or, if you prefer, you can imagine the British Isles as Louisiana poised below South Carolina, flanked by New Jersey to its west and a second South Carolina floating above it to the northwest (but this one with Connecticut on its northeast coast), all of which fit inside the borders of Michigan. Update (to appease the pedants): It seems my reference to "Ireland" wasn't as clear as it could have been. So here's another try. Republic of Ireland: 27,133 sq mi, which is a bit bigger than West Virginia (24,230 sq mi). Northern Ireland: 5,543 sq mi, which is about the size of Connecticut. The island of Ireland: 31,521, which is about the size of South Carolina. I'm not going to worry about why the total square miles don't add up exactly.