km (1,487 miles) = Washington — Denver, Moscow — London  North - South: 1,259 km (782 miles) =New York, NY - Charleston, SC, Hamburg — Venice  Total Area — 1.54 million sq.km, roughly the same size as Alaska (1.7 million sq. km); 3 times the size France of (550,000 sq.km)  Population — 2.8 million,