Tri-state area


Tri-state area is an informal term in the eastern contiguous United States for any of several regions associated with a particular town or metropolis that, with adjacent suburbs, lies across three states. Some of these involve a state boundary tripoint. Other tri-state areas have a more diffuse population that shares a connected economy and geography — especially with respect to geology, botany, or climate — The term "tri-state area" is often present in movies, radio and television commercials.

Tri-state areas

The Quincy, Evansville and Huntington–Ashland areas are noteworthy for the states included all being separated by rivers.

Tripoints

Land

Of the 62 points in the United States where three and only three states meet, 35 are on dry land and 27 are in water.
State 1State 2State 3Notes
AlabamaFloridaGeorgiaMarker on riverbank is actually a few feet above and west of true tripoint at high-water line.
AlabamaGeorgiaTennesseeMarker on dry land at surface level and unmarked on lake in cavern directly below. Stolen in 2009 and returned two years later.
ArizonaNevadaUtahMarked with a red sandstone monument.
ArkansasLouisianaMississippiUnmarked on silt island in river connected to west bank by riprap.
ArkansasLouisianaTexasSee Ark-La-Tex. Marker in process of being surrounded and absorbed by tree.
ArkansasMissouriOklahomaMarked with a stone monument.
ArkansasOklahomaTexasUnmarked on seasonal silt island or in river bed, but Oklahoma–Texas state line as revised in 2000 is defective in not extending from vegetation line on south bank to pre-established tripoint.
CaliforniaNevadaOregonMarked with a cairn.
ColoradoKansasNebraskaMarked with a brass disc.
ColoradoKansasOklahoma8 Mile Corner. Marker is concealed in crypt beneath removable manhole cover.
ColoradoNebraskaWyomingMarked with a stone surrounded by a three-stone colored base.
ColoradoNew MexicoOklahomaPreston Monument
ColoradoUtahWyomingMarked.
ConnecticutMassachusettsNew YorkSee Brace Mountain or Mount Frissell. Marked with a stone inscribed with MASS-1898-NY and sometimes a "scratched-on" CONN.
ConnecticutMassachusettsRhode IslandSee Thompson, Connecticut. Marked with a stone inscribed with MASS-CONN-RI.
DelawareMarylandPennsylvaniaSee Delaware Wedge. Marked with a stone inscribed with M-M-P-P, as this was not the original intended tri-point.
GeorgiaNorth CarolinaTennesseeMarked.
IdahoMontanaWyomingLocated within Yellowstone National Park. Marked, although difficult to access.
IdahoNevadaOregonMarked with a three-sided stone inscribed with N-I-O on the respective faces.
IdahoNevadaUtahMarked with a granite monument inscribed with the respective states' names.
IdahoUtahWyomingMarked with a stone.
IndianaMichiganOhioBrass marker with the shapes of the three states is located in a monument box beneath the surface of a rural road. Was set in 1999 and is referenced by a granite marker 20 feet to the east on the Michigan-Ohio line.
IowaMinnesotaSouth DakotaTrue point is marked with a disc in the center of a T-shaped road intersection. A witness monument nearby in the South Dakota corner acknowledges the tri-point being set in 1859.
KansasMissouriOklahomaMarked with a plaque on a seldom used dead-end road.
KentuckyTennesseeVirginiaTri-State Peak Located within Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Marked.
KentuckyVirginiaWest VirginiaMarked with a USCG marker on top of a two-foot high iron pipe at the river's high point.
MarylandPennsylvaniaWest VirginiaMarked with a pyramid-like stone.
MassachusettsNew HampshireVermontMarker is technically on dry land, but buried within river bed due to a dam's construction downstream.
MassachusettsNew YorkVermontMarked with a stone.
MontanaNorth DakotaSouth DakotaMarked with a red granite stone.
MontanaSouth DakotaWyomingMarked with a stone within a fence.
NebraskaSouth DakotaWyomingMarked with a stone within a fence.
New JerseyNew YorkPennsylvaniaMarked by the Tri-States Monument in Port Jervis, New York, at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers.
New MexicoOklahomaTexasTexhomex Marker
North CarolinaTennesseeVirginiaMarked.

Water

Regions with no tripoint

The following tri-state areas are also notable, but have no tripoint:
State 1State 2State 3Notes
AlabamaFloridaMississippiThe Gulf Coast region.
ConnecticutNew JerseyNew YorkNew York metropolitan area. See New York metropolitan area.
DelawareMarylandNew JerseyWilmington, Delaware, metropolitan area
DelawareMarylandVirginiaDelmarva Peninsula
IdahoMontanaWashingtonSpokane, Washington, area; connected by Interstate 90
IllinoisIndianaWisconsinChicago metro area
KansasOklahomaTexasThe Liberal, Kansas, area has a close relationship with the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles.
MassachusettsMaineNew HampshireThe Boston to Portland, Maine, metro area; though the two are separated by New Hampshire, Maine was actually part of Massachusetts before becoming a separate state in 1820.
New YorkPennsylvaniaOhioErie metropolitan area, a.k.a. Niagara Frontier and North Coast. Shares two tripoints with the province of Ontario, both within Lake Erie.
South CarolinaNorth CarolinaTennesseeThe Spartanburg, South Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, Johnson City, Tennessee and Kingsport, Tennessee metro areas along Interstate 26
VermontMaineNew HampshireNorthern New England
West VirginiaVirginiaNorth CarolinaImportant section of Interstate 77 connecting Charleston, West Virginia with Charlotte, North Carolina; passes through Wytheville, Virginia