More information about USA

1. UNITED STATES
FAST FACTS
OFFICIALNAME:UnitedStatesof America
FORMOF GOVERNMENT: Constitution-basedfederal republic
CAPITAL:Washington,D.C.
POPULATION:318,892,103
LANGUAGES: English,Spanish(noofficial national language)
MONEY: U.S. dollar
AREA:3,794,083 square miles(9,826,630 square kilometers)
MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES:Rocky Mountains,AppalachianMountains
MAJOR RIVERS:Mississippi,Missouri,Colorado
GEOGRAPHY
The UnitedStatesof Americaisthe world'sthirdlargestcountryinsize andnearlythe thirdlargest
interms of population.LocatedinNorthAmerica,the countryisborderedonthe westbythe
PacificOceanand to the eastby the AtlanticOcean.Along the northernborderis Canadaand the
southernborderis Mexico.There are 50 statesand the Districtof Columbia.
More than twice the size of the EuropeanUnion,the UnitedStateshas highmountainsinthe
Westand a vast central plain. The lowestpointinthe countryisinDeathValleywhichisat -282
feet(-86meters) and the highestpeakis Denali (Mt.McKinley) at20,320 feet(6,198 meters).

2. PEOPLE & CULTURE
Throughoutitshistory,the UnitedStateshasbeena nationof immigrants.The populationis
diverse withpeople fromall overthe worldseekingrefuge andabetterwayof life.
The countryis dividedintosix regions:New England,the mid-Atlantic,the South,the Midwest,
the Southwest,andthe West. Europeansettlerscame toNew Englandinsearchof religious
freedom.These statesare Connecticut,Maine,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Rhode Island,
and Vermont.
The mid-Atlanticregionincludes Delaware,Maryland,New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania,and
the city of Washington,D.C. These industrial areasattractedmillionsof European immigrantsand
gave rise to some of the East Coast'slargestcities:New York,Baltimore,andPhiladelphia.
The Southincludes Alabama,Arkansas,Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,Louisiana,Mississippi,North
Carolina,SouthCarolina,Tennessee,Virginia,andWestVirginia,all of whichstruggledafterthe
Civil War,whichlastedfrom1860-1865.
The Midwestishome tothe country'sagricultural base andiscalled the "nation'sbreadbasket."
The regioncomprisesthe states
of Illinois, Indiana,Iowa, Kansas,Michigan, Minnesota,Missouri,Nebraska,North
Dakota,Ohio,SouthDakota,and Wisconsin.
The Southwestisabeautiful starklandscape of prairie anddesert. The statesof Arizona, New
Mexico,Oklahoma,andTexasare consideredthe Southwestandare home tosome of the world's
great natural marvels,includingthe GrandCanyonandCarlsbadCaverns.
The AmericanWest,home of rollingplainsandthe cowboy,isa symbol of the pioneeringspiritof
the UnitedStates. The Westis diverse,rangingfromendlesswildernesstobarrendesert,coral
reefstoArctic tundra,Hollywoodto Yellowstone.The statesof the West
include Alaska, Colorado,California,Hawaii,Idaho,Montana, Nevada,Oregon,Utah, Washington,
and Wyoming.
NATURE
The landscape variesacrossthe large country fromtropical beachesinFloridatopeaksinthe
Rocky Mountains,fromrollingprairie landsandbarrendesertsinthe Westto dense wilderness
areas inthe NortheastandNorthwest.Interspersedthroughoutare the GreatLakes,the Grand
Canyon,the majesticYosemite Valley,andthe mightyMississippi River.
The wildlife isasdiverse asthe landscape. Mammalssuchas bison once roamedfreelyacrossthe
plains,butnowlive onlyinpreserves.Blackbears,grizzlies,and polarbears are the largest
carnivores.There are over20,000 flowerspeciesandmostcame from Europe.There are more
than 400 areas whichare protectedandmaintainedbythe National ParkService,andmanyother
parks ineach state.
The baldeagle isthe national birdandsymbol of the UnitedStatesandis a protectedspecies.

3. GOVERNMENT& ECONOMY
Citizensoverthe age of 18 yearsoldvote to electthe PresidentandVice Presidentof United
Stateseveryfouryears. The presidentlivesinthe White House inthe capital cityof Washington,
D.C.
There are twohousesof Congress:the Senate andthe House of Representatives. There are 100
senators,twofromeach of the 50 statesandeach servesasix-yearterm.There are 435
representativeswhomustbe electedeverytwoyears.
The Supreme Courtismade up of nine justiceswhoare pickedbythe presidentandmustbe
approvedbyCongress.
For the firsttime inthe nation'shistoryanAfricanAmerican,BarackObama,was elected
Presidentof the UnitedStatesin2008. He was reelectedforasecondtermin2012.
Advancesinthe past hundredyearshave establishedAmericaasa worldleadereconomically,
militarily,andtechnologically. Americahasthe largestcoal reservesinthe world
HISTORY
For centuriesnative peopleslivedacrossthe vastexpanse thatwouldbecomethe UnitedStates.
In the early17th century,settlersmovedfromEurope tothe New World,establishedcolonies,and
displacedthe native peoples.
The settlersfoughtfortheirindependence fromBritaininthe late 18th centuryandformeda
unionof statesbasedon a newconstitution. The nationcontinuedtoexpandwestwardand
althoughthe countryisa relativelyyoungnation,ithasbecome aglobal powersince declaring
independencefromBritainonJuly4,1776.