The territory of the United States lies in the zone of six time zones at once. US time zones are the very invisible threads that determine when the inhabitants of a particular district wake up and when they go to bed. In other words, they are responsible for the daily routine of all citizens of the country without exception. In accordance with them, North American Eastern and Pacific, Central, Mountain, Hawaiian-Aleutian and Alaskan Standard Time are distinguished.
A trip to history
For the first time, US time zones came into daily use at the state level at the very end of the 19th century. Their use in 1883 was introduced first on the railroad. And in 1918 they already received official status and were endorsed by the Congress of the United States of America. The established standard definition of time zones was regulated by an act that only consolidated the system that had developed by that time.
Today, the US time zones are in the hands of the current government of the country. Officials of the Department of Transportation are empowered to determine and change the actual boundaries of local time. The transition to summer and winter time is described in the relevant federallaw.
North American Eastern Zone (GMT-5)
The territory of Eastern Standard Time is occupied by such states as Rhode Island, West Virginia, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, Indiana, South and North Carolina, Massachusetts and others. There are twenty-three districts in total. Among them are the cities of New York and New Jersey. The Canadian cities of Quebec and Toronto are located in the same time domain. The inhabitants of the Bahamas, Haiti and Jamaica are also subject to its influence.
Central Zone (GMT-6)
Influenced by Central Standard Time are Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Florida, Alabama, Texas and fourteen other areas. Since the time zones of the United States extend not only to the possessions of the United States, citizens of the middle lands of Canada, as well as Mexico, also live in them. The largest settlements located in this area are Dallas, Chicago, Winnipeg and metropolitan Mexico City.
Mountain zone (GMT-7)
Mountain Standard Time affects the lives of citizens of Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska (partly), Colorado, western South Dakota, Utah and Montana. It includes New Mexico, parts of Oregon and Texas. There are eleven states in total. Important economic centers of the zone are Denver and Edmonton.
North American Pacific Area (GMT-8)
Pacific Standard Time is represented by the settlements of sunny California, sultry Nevada, the lion's sharefarmland in Oregon. Iconic cities - Los Angeles, Vancouver (Canada) and Dawson.
Returning to the question of how many time zones there are in the US, I would like to note that the four time zones listed above are the main ones and extend to a large territory of the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. The remaining two are considered island.
Alaska Standard Zone (GMT-9)
Time on the peninsula is nine hours off GMT. That is, when it is noon in Ireland, it is deep night in North America. This zone includes the cities of Anchorage, Lakes, Fairbanks, College, Sitka, Juneau, Badger, Eagle River, Nick Fairview, Tanaina.
Hawaiian-Aleutian Standard Zone (GMT-10)
The Hawaii Standard Time and Aleutian Standard Time zone includes the settlements of Honolulu, Kahului, Kihei, Pearl City, Hilo, Waipahu, Mililani, Kailua, Kaneohe, Gentry.
So six time zones is the only correct answer to the question of how many time zones there are in the United States. Five of them occupy continental lands. The sixth passes through the island part of the state property and affects only one and a half million people living in Hawaii.
Remarkably, there are only four kilometers between the American Krusenstern and the Russian island of Ratmanov. This distance can be easily overcome on a conventional motorboat in twenty minutes. But the time difference between them is 21 hours.
