Alaska.com: Alaska's Travel Website

Alaska is part of the continental United States.

Everything on the North American land mass is "continental." That includes all of Alaska except for the islands. And even in the island-packed Inside Passage, Juneau, Hyder, Haines and Skagway are on the mainland.

The 48 states between Washington, California, Maine and Florida are "contiguous," meaning they have common borders.

The only state not in the continental United States is Hawaii.

Some companies based in the Lower 48 exclude Alaska from the continent, sometimes catching customers by surprise with higher shipping charges. When ordering goods, ask whether a company includes Alaska when its ads or catalogs speak about services and goods available in "the continental United States."