U.S. States Shaped Like Panhandles: Six Distinctive Examples

Nine U.S. states have panhandle-like protrusions, but six are famously panhandle-defined:

Classic Panhandles

1. Florida — Northwest "Panhandle" (Emerald Coast, Pensacola, Tallahassee)
2. Alaska — Southeast "Panhandle" (Alexander Archipelago, Juneau, Inside Passage)
3. Oklahoma — "Oklahoma Panhandle" / "No Man's Land" (Guymon, Beaver, Cimarron County)
4. Nebraska — "Panhandle" (Scotts Bluff, Chimney Rock, High Plains)
5. Idaho — "North Idaho" / "Panhandle" (Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, 10 counties)
6. West Virginia — "Northern Panhandle" (Wheeling, Weirton, between OH/PA)

Other Protrusions

• Texas — "Panhandle" (Amarillo, Llano Estacado) — often called that
• Maryland — Western panhandle (Hancock, between PA/WV)
• Connecticut — Southwest "panhandle" (Greenwich, along NY border)

Why They Exist

• Colonial charter boundaries (FL, CT, MD)
• Survey compromises (OK: slavery compromise 1820/1850; NE: Colorado Territory)
• Geographic features (ID: mountains; AK: coastline)
• Congressional deals (WV: statehood 1863, pro-Union counties)