Blank Massachusetts map

What the outline shows

The outline is the state boundary. The north edge is a straight line against Vermont and an irregular one against New Hampshire, ending at the short Atlantic coast north of Boston. The west edge with New York is a straight line. The south edge is straight against Connecticut, apart from the Southwick Jog notch, and straight against Rhode Island, then follows the coast around Buzzards Bay. The eastern side is all coast: Boston Harbor, the South Shore, the hook of Cape Cod, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket below it. Nothing inside the boundary is drawn. Capital marks Boston on the coast at the inner end of Massachusetts Bay; Abbreviation stamps "MA".

Portrait or landscape

Massachusetts is about 190 miles from the New York line to the tip of Cape Cod and only about 50 miles north to south across the mainland, widening to about 110 miles if the islands are counted. Print in landscape. Portrait would reduce the state to a strip and make Cape Cod's hook too small to draw on. Landscape keeps the cape, the islands and the Connecticut River valley usable. The Berkshire hills at the far west end fit on the page with room for labels.

Five classroom exercises

1. Draw the Connecticut River crossing the state from north to south through Springfield and mark that it continues into Connecticut.
2. Shade Cape Cod and mark the Cape Cod Canal at its base, then label Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket in their correct positions to the south.
3. Place Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge and Lowell, then draw the Merrimack River from New Hampshire through Lowell to the sea at Newburyport.
4. Mark the Southwick Jog on the Connecticut border and the point where Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut meet.
5. Draw the Berkshires down the western edge and the Quabbin Reservoir in the centre of the state, which supplies Boston with water.

How to recognise the Massachusetts outline

• A wide, low rectangle with a hooked arm, Cape Cod, at the bottom right.
• Two islands beneath the arm: Martha's Vineyard (triangular) and Nantucket (crescent).
• A straight left edge and a straight bottom edge with a tiny notch (the Southwick Jog).
• A bumpy top-right coast with Boston Harbor cut into it.

Answer key and related maps

• Massachusetts map — the labeled version with capital, cities and borders; use it as the answer key.
• Printable Massachusetts map — the same outline with cities, county lines and the capital printed on.
• Massachusetts county map — all 14 counties with their seats.
• Boston — capital and largest city.
• Neighbours: New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island.
• New England and US coastlines.
• All blank state maps and the printable US maps index.