Which is the Closest US State to Africa? Is it Maine or Florida?

A common geographical puzzle has baffled people for ages: which U.S. state is actually closest to Africa? Many instinctively guess Florida, given its position along the southern Atlantic. But as social media chatter and geographical forums confirmed earlier in 2025, the real answer often catches folks off guard. This persistent question forces us to rethink how we see maps, inviting us instead to grasp the amazing truth of our round planet and the surprising link it reveals between North America and Africa.

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Which is is the Closest US State to Africa?

Okay, let's cut to the chase: The closest U.S. state to Africa isn't Florida, even though that's what most folks assume. It's actually Maine! This little tidbit always throws people for a loop. Why? Well, we're all used to looking at flat maps, right? And those maps can really mess with our perception of true distances on our round Earth. But if you picture the globe, Maine's easternmost point just happens to stick out perfectly, making it the shortest hop across the Atlantic to Africa's northwestern coast.

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How Far is Maine from Africa?

So, just how far are we talking? The closest spots are Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Maine, over to El Beddouza, Morocco. When you measure that distance on a globe – the way planes fly, not on a flat paper map – it comes out to roughly 3,154 miles (that's about 5,076 kilometers). Pretty wild, right? It really shows how tricky global geography can be and why a flat map just doesn't tell the whole story.

Closest States from Africa, Curtesy - MapsofWorld

Which is the Second Closest State to Africa?

Okay, so Maine's the champ, no doubt about it. But what about second place? That's where things get a little fuzzy. While experts are pretty solid on Maine, there's no single, universally agreed-upon 'second closest' state. You'll hear states like Massachusetts and Georgia mentioned a lot, mostly because they also poke out a bit into the Atlantic and share similar longitudes. But honestly, nobody's done the super-precise, coast-to-coast globe calculations for them like they have for Maine. So, for now, Maine holds its unique spot firmly at the top, leaving second place open for debate.

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This whole "Maine is closest to Africa" debate is more than just a pointless trivia question to stump your friends. It's a great little reminder of how easily the flat maps we use every day can trick us.  This surprising link between Maine and Morocco only serves to emphasize how interconnected the world is, encouraging everyone to look at the map more closely and maybe learn something new.