Tri-state area

Tri-state area is an informal term in the United States which can be used for any of several populated areas 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 radio, television commercials and some movies.

Tri-state areas

• The Cincinnati metropolitan area, including Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.
• The area surrounding New York City, which includes parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. See New York metropolitan area, which sometimes includes part of Pennsylvania as a fourth state.
• The Philadelphia metropolitan area, which covers parts of the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and a portion of Maryland's eastern shore.
• The Greater Boston metropolitan area, which covers parts of the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.
• The Providence metropolitan area covers nearly all of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts; though Connecticut is not included in any official definitions of the metropolitan area, three of Rhode Island's five counties border Connecticut.
• The Pittsburgh tri-state area, covering parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
• The Erie, Pennsylvania, tri-state area includes portions of New York and Ohio.
• The Minisink Valley tri-state region, which covers Orange County, New York; Sussex County, New Jersey; and Pike County, Pennsylvania.
• The Chicago tri-state area, or Chicagoland, includes northeast Illinois, Northwest Indiana, and southeast Wisconsin. Parts of southwest Michigan in the Michiana region are also culturally tied to Chicago. The Tri-State Tollway connects Illinois' portion of Chicagoland with Northwest Indiana and southeast Wisconsin.
• The Greater Memphis area or Mid-South, includes West Tennessee, Northwest Mississippi, and the Arkansas delta.
• The Dubuque, Iowa tri-state area spills over into Illinois and Wisconsin.
• The La Crosse, Wisconsin, tri-state area includes La Crosse and Onalaska in Wisconsin; La Crescent, Hokah, and Brownsville in Minnesota; and New Albin and Lansing in Iowa.
• The Chattanooga, Tennessee, tri-state area includes portions of Alabama and Georgia.
• The area that includes Washington, D.C. and the nearby parts of Maryland and Virginia is sometimes loosely referred to as a "tri-state area," although the District of Columbia is not a state. However, with the presence of Jefferson County, West Virginia, in the official Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metropolitan statistical area, the region, as defined by the US Government, does in fact include three states (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia). Traditionally, however, West Virginia was not considered part of this region, and is therefore not part of the colloquial term used to refer to this area: "the DMV" (DC, Maryland, Virginia).
• ...which is not to be confused with the Delmarva area, which includes Delaware and the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia.
• The "Joplin District", a lead and zinc mining region of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri, produces mineral specimens known as "tri-state" minerals, typically consisting mainly of sphalerite.
• The Wiregrass Region includes Southeast Alabama, Southern Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle.
• The Sioux City metropolitan area region of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
• Northwest Litchfield County, Connecticut, southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and eastern Dutchess County, New York are referred to as a tri-state area or sometimes the "tri-corners".
• The Keokuk, Iowa tri-state area includes parts of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois.
• The Quincy, Illinois tri-state region includes parts of southeastern Iowa, northwestern Missouri, and western Illinois.
• The Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area includes Evansville, Indiana, and adjacent parts of Illinois and Kentucky.
• The Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area incorporates towns in ten counties in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. This area is sometimes referred to as “Kyova”, a portmanteau of the state abbreviations.
• The Ark-La-Tex is a socio-economic tri-state region that includes thirty-nine counties/parishes in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
• The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire includes Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

The areas around Quincy, Keokuk, Evansville, Sioux City, and Huntington–Ashland 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 (each of which may be associated with its own tri-state area), 35 are on dry land and 27 are in water. Of the 27 points on water, 3 of them are in the Great Lakes, and thus have no land nearby.

• 

  New York–Massachusetts–Connecticut tripoint marker

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  Connecticut–Rhode Island–Massachusetts tripoint marker

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  New Jersey–New York–Pennsylvania tripoint marker

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  Indiana–Michigan–Ohio tripoint marker

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  Colorado–Kansas–Oklahoma tripoint marker (8 Mile Corner)

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  Kansas-Missouri-Oklahoma tripoint marker

State 1	State 2	State 3	Coordinates	Notes
Alabama	Florida	Georgia	31°0′2″N 85°0′8″W	Marker on Chattahoochee riverbank is actually a few feet above and west of true tripoint at high-water line.
Alabama	Georgia	Tennessee	34°59′5″N 85°36′19″W	Tri-State Corner. Marker on dry land at surface level and unmarked on lake in cavern directly below. Stolen in 2009 and returned two years later.
Arizona	Nevada	Utah	37°0′1″N 114°3′2″W	Marked with a red sandstone monument.
Arkansas	Louisiana	Mississippi	33°0′15″N 91°9′58″W	Probably unmarked on silt island in river sometimes connected to west bank by mud flat accreted by riprap.
Arkansas	Louisiana	Texas	33°1′9″N 94°2′35″W	See Ark-La-Tex. Marker in process of being surrounded and absorbed by tree.
Arkansas	Missouri	Oklahoma	36°29′58″N 94°37′5″W	Marked with a stone monument.
Arkansas	Oklahoma	Texas	33°38′16″N 94°29′9″W	Unmarked 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.
California	Nevada	Oregon	41°59′40″N 119°59′57″W	Marked with a cairn.
Colorado	Kansas	Nebraska	40°0′11″N 102°3′6″W	Marked with a brass disc.
Colorado	Kansas	Oklahoma	36°59′35″N 102°2′32″W	8 Mile Corner. Marker is concealed in crypt beneath removable manhole cover.
Colorado	Nebraska	Wyoming	41°0′5″N 104°3′12″W	Marked with a stone surrounded by a three-stone colored base.
Colorado	New Mexico	Oklahoma	37°0′0″N 103°0′8″W	Preston Monument
Colorado	Utah	Wyoming	41°0′2″N 109°3′0″W	Marked.
Connecticut	Massachusetts	New York	42°2′59″N 73°29′14″W	See Brace Mountain or Mount Frissell. Marked with a stone inscribed with MASS-1898-NY and sometimes a "scratched-on" CONN.
Connecticut	Massachusetts	Rhode Island	42°0′29″N 71°47′57″W	See Thompson, Connecticut. Marked with a stone inscribed with MASS-CONN-RI.
Delaware	Maryland	Pennsylvania	39°43′20″N 75°47′19″W	See Delaware Wedge. Marked with a stone inscribed with M-M-P-P, as this was not the original intended tri-point.
Georgia	North Carolina	Tennessee	34°59′18″N 84°19′19″W	Marked.
Idaho	Montana	Wyoming	44°28′27″N 111°2′56″W	Located within Yellowstone National Park. Marked, although difficult to access.
Idaho	Nevada	Oregon	42°0′1″N 117°1′34″W	Marked with a three-sided stone inscribed with N-I-O on the respective faces.
Idaho	Nevada	Utah	41°59′37″N 114°2′30″W	Marked with a granite monument inscribed with the respective states' names.
Idaho	Utah	Wyoming	42°0′6″N 111°2′48″W	Marked with a stone.
Indiana	Michigan	Ohio	41°41′46″N 84°48′22″W	Brass 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.
Iowa	Minnesota	South Dakota	43°30′1″N 96°27′12″W	True 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.
Kansas	Missouri	Oklahoma	36°59′56″N 94°37′5″W	Marked with a plaque on a seldom used dead-end road.
Kentucky	Tennessee	Virginia	36°36′3″N 83°40′32″W	Tri-State Peak Located within Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Marked.
Kentucky	Virginia	West Virginia	37°32′17″N 81°58′5″W	Marked with a USCG marker on top of a two-foot high iron pipe at the river's high point.
Maryland	Pennsylvania	West Virginia	39°43′16″N 79°28′36″W	Marked with a pyramid-like stone.
Massachusetts	New Hampshire	Vermont	42°43′37″N 72°27′30″W	Marker is technically on dry land, but buried within river bed due to a dam's construction downstream.
Massachusetts	New York	Vermont	42°44′45″N 73°15′54″W	Marked with a stone.
Montana	North Dakota	South Dakota	45°56′43″N 104°2′44″W	Marked with a red granite stone.
Montana	South Dakota	Wyoming	44°59′51″N 104°3′28″W	Marked with a stone within a fence.
Nebraska	South Dakota	Wyoming	43°0′2″N 104°3′11″W	Marked with a stone within a fence.
New Jersey	New York	Pennsylvania	41°21′27″N 74°41′42″W	Marked by the Tri-States Monument in Port Jervis, New York, at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers.
New Mexico	Oklahoma	Texas	36°30′1″N 103°0′9″W	Texhomex Marker
North Carolina	Tennessee	Virginia	36°35′17″N 81°40′39″W	North Carolina–Tennessee–Virginia Corners - Marked.

Water

State 1	State 2	State 3	Coordinates	Water	Notes
Alabama	Mississippi	Tennessee	34°59′44″N 88°12′0″W	Tennessee River
Arizona	California	Nevada	35°0′7″N 114°38′1″W	Colorado River
Arkansas	Mississippi	Tennessee	34°59′44″N 90°18′33″W	Mississippi River	Memphis, Tennessee metro area.
Arkansas	Missouri	Tennessee	36°0′2″N 89°43′59″W	Mississippi River
Connecticut	New York	Rhode Island	41°18′16″N 71°54′26″W	Long Island Sound	The part of New York that is in this tri-state area is Fishers Island. It is the New London, Connecticut metro area.
Delaware	New Jersey	Pennsylvania	39°48′7″N 75°24′54″W	Delaware River	Philadelphia metro area, at the east end of the Twelve-Mile Circle.
Georgia	North Carolina	South Carolina	35°0′2″N 83°6′31″W	Chatooga River	Located in river very near marker on dry land.
Idaho	Oregon	Washington	45°59′43″N 116°54′58″W	Snake River
Illinois	Indiana	Kentucky	37°47′57″N 88°1′41″W	Wabash River and Ohio River	Evansville, Indiana metro area. See Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area.
Illinois	Indiana	Michigan	41°45′39″N 87°12′28″W	Lake Michigan	Known as either the Indiana Dunes or the Michigan Dunes Area
Illinois	Iowa	Wisconsin	42°30′30″N 90°38′27″W	Mississippi River	Dubuque, Iowa metro area.
Illinois	Kentucky	Missouri	36°58′51″N 89°8′3″W	Mississippi River and Ohio River	Little Egypt region popularly labeled as a tri-state area with St. Louis, Missouri, Carbondale, Illinois metro area and Paducah, Kentucky being its nuclei.
Illinois	Michigan	Wisconsin	42°29′37″N 87°1′12″W	Lake Michigan
Indiana	Kentucky	Ohio	39°6′20″N 84°49′13″W	Ohio River	Cincinnati metro area. The tripoint is near, but not precisely at, the confluence with the Great Miami River.
Iowa	Illinois	Missouri	40°22′42″N 91°25′10″W	Mississippi River and Des Moines River	Border with Lee County, Iowa
Iowa	Minnesota	Wisconsin	43°30′2″N 91°13′4″W	Mississippi River	La Crosse, Wisconsin metro area. Was apparently marked at one time with a sign that had been anchored in the location, but that sign has since been moved as of 2001.
Iowa	Missouri	Nebraska	40°35′7″N 95°45′56″W	Missouri River
Iowa	Nebraska	South Dakota	42°29′26″N 96°26′44″W	Big Sioux River and Missouri River	Sioux City, Iowa metro area.
Kansas	Missouri	Nebraska	40°0′0″N 95°18′30″W	Missouri River
Kentucky	Missouri	Tennessee	36°29′54″N 89°32′22″W 36°29′52″N 89°29′6″W 36°29′57″N 89°25′6″W	Mississippi River	Three separate tripoints, due to meanders of the river (though probably only a single tri-state area surrounding them all). See also Kentucky Bend.
Kentucky	Ohio	West Virginia	38°25′18″N 82°35′45″W	Big Sandy River and Ohio River	Huntington (W.V.)-Ashland (Ky.)-Ironton (Oh.) Tri-State region.
Maryland	Virginia	West Virginia	39°19′17″N 77°43′8″W	Potomac River	Unmarked, at high water mark, because the Maryland West Virginia state line is at the high water mark even tho the Maryland Virginia state line runs generally along the low water line, so perhaps misclassified here because it is rarely actually under water.
Michigan	Minnesota	Wisconsin	47°17′28″N 89°57′26″W	Lake Superior
Minnesota	North Dakota	South Dakota	45°56′7″N 96°33′49″W	Bois de Sioux River	Not directly marked and most probably within river.
Ohio	Pennsylvania	West Virginia	40°38′20″N 80°31′8″W	Ohio River	Technically the Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey, although the actual monument is 1,112 feet north of the tripoint due to the tripoint's current location under water; Pittsburgh Tri-State.

Regions with no tripoint

The following tri-state areas are also notable, but have no tripoint:

State 1	State 2	State 3	Notes
Alabama	Florida	Mississippi	The Gulf Coast region.
Connecticut	New Jersey	New York
Delaware	Maryland	New Jersey	Wilmington, Delaware, metropolitan area
Delaware	Maryland	Virginia	Delmarva Peninsula
Idaho	Montana	Washington	Spokane, Washington, area; connected by Interstate 90
Illinois	Indiana	Wisconsin	Chicago metro area
Kansas	Oklahoma	Texas	The Liberal, Kansas, area has a close relationship with the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles.
Massachusetts	Maine	New Hampshire	The 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 York	Pennsylvania	Ohio	Erie metropolitan area, a.k.a. Niagara Frontier and North Coast. Shares two tripoints with the province of Ontario (PA–ON–OH and PA–ON–NY), both within Lake Erie.
South Carolina	North Carolina	Tennessee	The Spartanburg, South Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, Johnson City, Tennessee and Kingsport, Tennessee metro areas along Interstate 26
Vermont	Maine	New Hampshire	Northern New England
West Virginia	Virginia	North Carolina	Important section of Interstate 77 connecting Charleston, West Virginia with Charlotte, North Carolina; passes through Wytheville, Virginia

See also

• Four Corners
• Four State Area
• Twin cities (geographical proximity), which includes tri-city
• Quad cities
• Three-Country Cairn

External links

• Tripoint Guide
• Clark, Patterson; Lu, Denise (September 17, 2015). "Cornering America's tri-points". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2016.