Official name: the United States of America (USA)
Status: a federal republic, a union of 50 states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area.
Area: 9,518,900 square km (the 4th country in the world after Russia, Canada, China).
Population: 316,1 mln (2013) (302,087,000 (2008) (the 3rd country in the world)
Nationality: American.
Capital: Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) (585,000 without suburbs без пригородов)
Location: the central part of North America, from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, to the Pacific Ocean in the west, from Canada and the Great Lakes in the north to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California in the south. The USA possesses many islands in the Pacific and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the Atlantic, has many military bases all over the globe.
Features: the continental part consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the north-east, the Cordillera Mountains in the west, the Rocky Mts. And the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The highest point is Mount McKinley in Alaska (6,198 m). Between the Cordillera and the Appalachians are the central lowlands called the Mississippi valley.
Chief rivers and lakes. The US is a landof rivers and lakes. The northern state of Minnesota is known as the land of 10000 lakes. Most of the fresh water is in five Great Lakes: Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, lake Superior, Michigan, Lake Erie. They are on the border with Canada. The largest rivers are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande, the Columbia, and also the Arkansas, the Colorado, the Ohio, the Red. The Mississippi is the world’s 3rd longest river after the Nile and the Amazon.
Climate. TheUSA has several different climate zones. Mostly temperate, but varies from arctic in Alaska to tropical (Hawaii).
History. North America may have been discovered in about 1,000 AD by Vikings under Leif Ericson, but Europeans did not know of its existence until Columbus sailed there in 1492.
1607 – the first permanent colony of the English, Jamestown (Virginia) was established.
1620 – the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth (Massachusetts), the historical centre of the USA.
1775-1783 – War for Independence. In 1775 13 colonies rebelled (восстали) against Britain.
July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence was proclaimed.
1860-1865 – Civil War between the North and the slave-holding South. The North won the war.
Head of state and government. The President, elected for 4 years.
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Legislative body: Congress, consisting of the Senate (100 senators chosen by popular vote for a 6 year term) and the House of Representatives (about 450 members elected by popular vote every two years: each state is entitled (имеет право) to at least one representative with the total number determined according to population).
Local government. 50 states and 1 district: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
The largest state is Alaska, the smallest – Rhode Island.
Ethnic composition: mainly European and African in origin, Americans are derived from nearly all races and nations. The ethnic diversity is chiefly due to the large-scale immigration, most of which took place before 1920.
Languages. English is official and predominant language.
Education. Literacy 97%. The most celebrated colleges and universities are Harvard, Yale, Princeton
Currency. Dollar (1,2,5,10, 20, 50, 100 notes). Coins – cents (5c – nickel, 10c – dime, 25c – quarter)
Economy. TheUSA leads the world in industrial and agricultural production. It has high level of economic development mainly due to its rich mineral resources, which it has been able to exploit for a long time without external interference (без внешнего вмешательства). The US is a leading producer of oil (about ¼ of world output), natural gas, coal, and iron ore.
Largest cities. New York (19,432,000), Los Angeles (14,531,000), Chicago (8,239,000), Philadelphia (5,892,900), San Francisco (6,253,000), Detroit (5,187,000), Boston (5,455,000), Houston (3,371,000), Dallas-Fort Worth (4mln), Miami (3,192,000), Cleveland (2,859,000), St. Louis (2,492,000), Atlanta (3 mln), Pittsburg (2,394,000), Baltimore (2,244,000), Seattle (2,970,000), San Diego (2,498,000).
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Flag. Stars and Stripes. Stars are for 50 states, stripes are for the 13 colonies which declared independence from GB in 1776.
National holidays. Independence day (4th July), Thanksgiving Day (November, Thursday).
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