United States of America

Maximum speed limits vary by state and territory. The maximum speed limits shown here will generally be seen on interstate highways. Some interstates and highways in their respective states or territories will have lower maximum speed limits than what is shown.

You can click on the image to enlarge it. Here is a map of the maximum speed limits on US territories

Each state has their own highway shield. Some states have their own unique, recognizable highway shields that can be seen here.

Most states have unique, distinct and learnable Adopt-a-Highway signs, which can be seen on the side of roads. A map of those can be seen here. Keep in mind, some states have slight variations in design.

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Blue and yellow shields are used for county roads, and can be seen in certain states in the US. Keep in mind, unique designs can be found in some counties in certain states. For more information, see here.

These rectangular raised pavement markers are found in the south and west of the US and also in Massachusetts.

Snowplowable raised pavement markers can only be found on highways in the eastern states shown in the image. They are built into the road and somewhat resemble the letter H.

Some roads and highways in the state of Kentucky use uniquely-shaped rumble strips that are thin, relatively long recessed lines on the very outside edges of the road.

Guardrails, signs, and signposts are commonly painted a medium brown colour in US National Parks, which are often located in the west. Guardrails that are painted brown can be made out of both wood and metal. Rock walls can also sometimes be seen in place of guardrails.

Here you can find a map showing where all US National Parks are located.

NOTE: There are occasional exceptions to this rule, so consider other clues before guessing in a National Park.

Wisconsin and Missouri are the only two states that use a lettering system (A - ZZZ) for their county highways. Wisconsin signs typically have the word ‘county’ above the letter, while Missouri signs typically do not. The borders of the signs also vary slightly.

Concrete paving on main highways is much more common in Iowa than in other states.

NOTE: Concrete paving on residential streets is commonly seen throughout the Midwest states and parts of the East Coast.

Yellow lines with a noticeably larger gap in between them are most common in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oregon. They can also be found to a lesser extent in Washington, Alabama, and Michigan.

NOTE: Wide middle lines can also rarely appear in other states, so consider other clues before guessing.

Some roads in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland use middle yellow lines that are thicker than traditional yellow road lines. 

NOTE: These are not present on all roads in these states, and can be found elsewhere, so use this tip in conjunction with other clues.

Speed signs in Oregon often simply have the word ‘Speed’ instead of the standard ‘Speed Limit’.

A black stripe can sometimes be seen in between the two yellow, middle road lines in California.

Utility poles in California usually have markings at the bottom of the pole that consist of 3 yellow stripes.

Some small roads in California lack a middle yellow line; instead only feature solid white lines on each side of the road. 

NOTE: This can rarely be seen in other states.

This bollard is found in Nevada. It consists of a reflector on a thin stick. The reflector is a vertical rectangle that consists of a white field surrounded by a black outline.

The most common type of roadside bollard in South Dakota and Montana features a dark metal post with a white diamond on each side of the top.

NOTE: These bollards can be found to a lesser extent in other western states.

Roadside bollards in Wyoming often feature a dark metal pole with a white circular reflector at the top. The top of the metal pole is sometimes painted white or grey, which is unique to Wyoming.

The state of Washington uses bollards that consist of a white or brown post with a white rectangle on the front of the bollard, and two smaller white or silver squares on the back of the bollard.

Streets in Utah and Idaho, particularly in urban areas, are often named by using a combination of a number and cardinal direction (i.e. ‘600 South.’)

NOTE: This style of street naming can be found rarely in other Western states.

Texan roads often have a grainy, ‘salt and pepper’-like road surface. 

NOTE: Similar pavement can sometimes be seen in adjacent states such as New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Some rural roads in the Upper Midwest use a similar road pavement to Texas. They will have a grainy, ‘salt and pepper’-like road surface, but will vary in colour. These roads are most common in the state of Illinois.

Yellow or red bands can commonly be seen around signposts in Texas.

NOTE: Similar reflectors can sometimes be seen in other states, such as Hawaii.

These white reflectors on signposts are unique to Kansas. They are most commonly seen on ‘stop’ signs in rural areas.

In Minnesota, these yellow signs with vertical, black triangles are placed before bridges at most major river crossings and at the beginnings and ends of guardrail sections on large highways.

On most rural ‘stop’ signposts in Minnesota, a black-and-white marker is attached to the posts horizontally. The shape may vary slightly.

These green ATV Route signs are unique to Wisconsin.

A rectangular white metal plate, with an orange rectangle and diamond, can be seen on most poles in Wisconsin and the Michigan peninsula.

These simple white bollards with black reflectors are unique to Wisconsin.

A horizontal blue, red, or green sign can commonly be seen at the ends of driveways in Wisconsin and the Michigan peninsula. The house number is present, in addition to either the town name and or the road name (usually.)

NOTE: Nearby states often use similar markers, but typically lack any town or street name information and only feature numbers.

Signs attached to two signposts can be seen in Michigan. Not all signs are attached to two signposts.

NOTE: Double signposts can also be seen in other states, but are not as common.

Many large intersections in Michigan have stop lights and signs that hang from wires that stretch across the middle of the intersection. These markers are commonly in yellow boxes.

NOTE: These are not completely unique to Michigan, but are most commonly seen there.

Properties in rural and exurban Ohio, Lower Michigan, and Indiana commonly feature a vertically-oriented metal sign with white numbers, indicating the house number of the adjacent building. These signs are most commonly blue or green, and are commonly attached to mailboxes. 

NOTE: These may be rarely found in other states.

West Virginia sometimes features street signs with a symbol that resembles a fraction inside a circle.

North Carolina commonly uses a style of street signs showing street numbers and arrows in addition to the street name.

NOTE: Other states occasionally feature street signs with similar designs, so use other clues before guessing.

In Oklahoma, you can often find a green rectangular sign with 3 rows of numbers attached to the back of stop signs at rural intersections

Rectangular white signs can sometimes be seen attached to signposts at intersections in Pennsylvania. On top, the number of the converging state route is written.

Rectangular white signs can sometimes be seen at intersections in Virginia.

White signs attached to signposts can commonly be seen in North Carolina.

Black street signs with white text can commonly be found at intersections in South Carolina.

Square guardrails are the most dominant (but not the only) type of guardrail in the states of New York and Wyoming. They have a long bar across the top, with several square legs supporting them.

NOTE: These guardrails can be found, to a lesser extent, in some adjacent states.

In New Hampshire there will often be a white metal sign with the characters ‘E-2’ on it adjacent to the road, typically at either end of bridges.

Vermont features small rectangular green signs on stop sign posts with three rows of horizontal numbers. The top row of numbers correlates to the highway or road number that the road with the stop sign intersects with. For example, this image is taken from Vermont State Road 116, looking towards the intersecting road.

The State of New York uses similar style signs. However, these signs can be attached to different types of sign posts (town entry signs, highway signs, etc.)

Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts use small green and red rectangular signs to mark the ends of bridges and guardrails. 

NOTE: Not all bridges and guardrails in these states will have these markers.

In rural areas of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, short rock walls are commonly visible adjacent to the road.

NOTE: These rock walls can be found rarely in adjacent states.

Dark-coloured wooden fences with several horizontal wooden supports are common in farming areas of central and southern Appalachia, stretching from Pennsylvania to Georgia.

NOTE: These types of fences can be found elsewhere to a lesser extent, so use other clues before guessing. 

Stilt houses can sometimes be seen on the coast. These are especially common toward the south, and on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Similar in style to aforementioned stilt houses, houses with much shorter stilts are common in the western and central Gulf Coast. These houses typically feature short stilts made of concrete or wood (1-3 feet off the ground) and are primarily found in areas near the coast and any adjacent rivers.

Buildings with very large, sloped roofs are most common in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. They can also be seen in neighbouring states to a lesser extent.

Houses in coastal New England often feature shingle walls, which are layered wood panels overlapping each other.

A similar style of panelling can also be seen, however, having a wider range than the one shown above.

Older three story wooden houses, also called ‘stacked triplexes,’ are very common in urban areas of the Northeast. They are most prevalent in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 

NOTE: These types of houses are also somewhat common in cities in Atlantic Canada.

Brownstone buildings are typically row houses or government buildings made out of various types of brick and sandstone. They are most commonly found in dense urban areas of the Northeast US, as well as Chicago.

Buildings with red metal rooftops are most commonly found in the Mid-South and Southern Appalachia states of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina.

NOTE: These types of rooftops can be found in other areas, so use other clues before guessing.

Very narrow, one-storey houses made out of wood are called ‘shotgun houses.’ They are most common in and around New Orleans (LA,) Houston (TX,) Louisville (KY,) and the state of Mississippi.

Pueblo Revival style houses are commonly seen in New Mexico. They are typically constructed of adobe or brick and concrete. They have rounded edges and flat roofs, and are usually sand-brown in colour.

NOTE: Pueblo style houses can also be seen in Arizona and Colorado to a lesser extent.

Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture can be categorised as buildings with lightly-coloured stucco walls and red clay-tile roofs. They can be found in the desert southwest states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas. You can also find similar types of buildings in Florida and coastal Georgia.

Houses and commercial buildings in the interior Western US are often made of lots of dark wooden boards and timbers. Buildings at high elevations also commonly have metal roofs, to avoid snow build-up.