Why is it that Maine has more coastline then california , florida and texas put together?

Question

How can maine have this much coastline , i would of thought for sure california and florida would have more , im confused!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_coastline

Answer 1

Don't depend on Wikipedia for accurate information. Maine has 3,478 miles of coastline, not 5,299. It wouldn't be surprising to find the other states' lengths wrong as well.

Answer 2

Look at it up close on a map or on Google earth.  There's tons of islands, inlets, coves, etc.  All of those count.  CA, FL, and TX all have a nice, straight coastline with relatively few islands and inlets.