It is possible to drive through three consecutive contiguous U.S. states, one after the other, whose spellings all begin with the same letter of the alphabet. Which three states are these?

Navigating the U.S. interstate system can reveal some interesting geographical quirks. One such oddity involves a unique road trip through the American Midwest. A driver can travel directly from Indiana into Illinois, and then from Illinois straight across the Mississippi River into Iowa. These three states form the only chain in the contiguous U.S. where a traveler can pass through three consecutive states whose names all begin with the same letter.

The connection between these states goes beyond their shared initial and borders. All three names have roots in the region's indigenous history. Indiana famously means "Land of the Indians," a name given by settlers during westward expansion. Illinois is the French rendering of a name for the Illiniwek, a confederation of local tribes, while Iowa gets its name from the Ioway people who once inhabited the area. This shared naming heritage reflects the deep Native American presence in this part of the country before it was organized into states.

While other letters boast more states, none can match this contiguous trifecta. The letter 'M,' for example, begins the names of eight different states, but it is impossible to drive through three of them consecutively without crossing into a state starting with another letter. This makes the journey through Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa a truly unique feature of the American map.