The United States of America is the forth largest country in the world
(after the Russia, Canada and China). It occupies the southern part of
North America and stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It
also includes Alaska in the north and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The
total area of the country is about nine and a half million square
kilometers. The USA boarders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the
south. It also has a sea-boarder with Russia.
The USA is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special
federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated.
The population of the country is more than 270 million.
If we look at the map of the USA, we can see lowlands and mountains. The
highest mountains are Rocky Mountains, Cordillera and Sierra Nevada.
The highest peak is Mount McKinley which is located in Alaska.
America’s largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio
Grande and the Columbia. The Great Lakes on the border with Canada are
largest and deepest in the USA.
The climate of the country varies greatly. The coldest regions are in
the north. The climate of Alaska is arctic. The climate of the central
part is continental. The south has a subtropical climate. Hot winds
blowing from the Gulf of the Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate
along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast.
The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It’s one of the worlds
leading producer of copper and oil and the world’s second producer of
iron ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are
aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments,
furniture and paper.
Through mainly European and African in origin, Americans are made up
from nearly all races and nations, including Chinese and native
Americans.
The largest cities are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Detroit, San-Francisco, Washington and others.
The United States is federal union of 50 states, each of which has its
own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is
Washington, DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the
government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the
President, the legislative exercised by the Congress, and the judicial.
The Congress consists of the senate and the House of Representatives.
There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the
Democratic, though there’s hardly any difference between their political
lines.
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