The geographical position and the territory of the USA. The national capital. The US national symbols (the national anthem, the national flag, the national bird).
The United States (about 3.8 million square miles/9.8 square kilometers) is the second largest country in North America, after Canada and the fourth largest country in the world. The country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. It stretches from Canada in the north to Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California in the south. Its territory also includes the states of Alaska, in the north-west corner of North America, and Hawaii, in the mid-Pacific Ocean.
The capital of the US is Washington, which is in the district of Columbia.
The USA consists of 50 states and a federal district. The smallest American state is Rhode Island, the largest state is Alaska. States often have popular names that reflect their history or geography. Colorado, the Centennial State, became a state in 1876, hundred years after independence. Illinois is called the Prairie State, because it is on the prairie.
The flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states and the 13 stripes represent the original Thirteen Colonies that rebelled against the British crown and became the first states in the Union. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner (also the name of the country’s official national anthem).
“The Star Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key. Key, a 35-year-old amateur poet, wrote “Defence of Fort McHenry” after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland by British ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith. His song was already popular in the United States and set to various lyrics. Set to Key’s poem and renamed, “The Star Spangled Banner” would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing.
The bald eagle became the National emblem in 1782 when the great seal of the United States was adopted. The Great Seal shows a wide-spread eagle, faced front, having on his breast a shield with thirteen perpendicular red and white stripes, surmounted by a blue field with the same number of stars. In his right talon the eagle holds an olive branch, in his left a bundle of thirteen arrows, and in his beak he carries a scroll inscribed with the motto: “E Pluribus Unum.”
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Landscape. Major rivers, lakes and waterfalls in the United States.
The U.S.A. is divided into three areas: Eastern area — highland with the Appalachian Mountains, Central area — plain, and Western mountainous area including the Cordilleras and the Rocky Mountains. Between the mountain ranges are the central lowlands, called the prairie, and the Eastern Lowlands, called the Mississippi Valley. The geography of the United States is extremely diverse. The Rocky Mountains in the West can reach over 14,440 feet (4,401 meters) high, but the land of the Great Plains stretches flat for hundreds of miles. Large reserves of coal, oil, gas, iron ores, ferrous and non-ferrous metals form a solid base for the development of the U.S.A. industry.
The north-eastern part of the U.S.A. is the region of the five Great Lakes — Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. The largest is Superior. The lakes are joined together by short rivers and canals and cut by rapids. The greatest of these rapids is the Niagara Falls. It is one of the largest waterfalls in the world. The waters of the five lakes have the outlet into the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River. In the west of the U.S.A. there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.
The greatest rivers of the U.S.A. are the Colorado and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific Ocean, the Mississippi with its tributaries — the Missouri and the Ohio — flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Hudson river, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers in the west are unsuitable for navigation as they are cut by deep rapids. They serve as a great source of electric power.
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