The USA

The United States of America is a fourth largest country in the world. It is situated in the central part of the North American continent. The country consists of 3 parts. The continental part is in the center of the North American Continent; the outlying territories are Hawaii and Alaska. The total area of the USA is over 9 million square kilometers. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The USA is separated from Canada in the north by the 49-th parallel and the Great Lakes, and from Mexico in the south by a line following the Rio Grande River and continuing across the highlands to the Pacific Ocean. It also has a sea border with Russia.

The country is washed by three oceans: The Arctic, The Atlantic and The Pacific. The principalrivers of the USA are the Mississippi, the longest river in the world (7,330 km) and the Hudson River. The highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains, The Cordillera, The Sierra Nevada and The Appalachian Mountains. The continental part of the USA consists of the highland regions and two lowland regions. The highland regions represented with the Appalachian mountains in the east and the Cordillera in the west. Between the Cordillera and the Appalachian Mountains are the central lowlands which are called the prairie, and eastern lowlands called the Mississippi valley.

The climate of the USA differs greatly from one part of the country to another. The coldest climate is in the northern part, where there is heavy snow in winter and the temperature may go down up to 40 degrees below zero. The south has a subtropical climate, with temperature of 49 degrees in summer.

The population of the United States of America is about 250 million people, who are called Americans. Nowadays there is a tendency to migration of the rural areapopulation into the cities, that’s why most of the people live in cities and towns, meanwhile the population of the countryside is becoming smaller and smaller.

Historically the USA has been the place where lots of people sought refuge from persecution for political or religious beliefs. That’s why in America there are representatives of practically all racial and national groups. Because of this circumstance this country is called “the melting pot”.

Officially the country comprises50 states and 1 District Columbia. The states differ in size, population and environment. Each state has its own capital. The capital of the USA is Washington. It is situated in the District of Columbia on the banks of the Potomac River and its named after the 1-st American president George Washington. There are many large cities in the USA, such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, etc.

No doubt that the USA is a highly developed industrial state. Its agriculture is highly mechanized. There is a wide range of mineral resources in the USA, among them one can name the coal-mines in the Cordillera Mountains, in the Kansas City region. Iron is mined near the Great Lakes. The USA has rich oil-fields in California, Texas and some other regions as well. So it occupies one of the first places among the countries of the world for production of coal, iron and oil.

The USA has a highly developed motor-car industry. It would be no exaggeration to say that cars have become the symbol of American way of life. The vehicles produced at such companies as Ford and the General Motors are known world-wide. The motor-car industry is concentrated in and around Detroit. Ship-building is developed along the Atlantic coast and in San Francisco. The textile industry is to be found in the north-east and in the south of the country.

The USA has a highly developedrailway system. It also has the best network of roads in the world. They are called highways.

Vocabulary:

North/South/West/East – север/юг/запад/восток

northern/southern/western/eastern – северный/южный/западный/восточный

to consist of – состоять из

an outlying territory – удаленная/далеко расположенная территория

the Great Lakes – Великие озера

Mexico - Мексика

a border - граница

an ocean - океан

The Arctic/The Atlantic/The Pacific ocean - Арктический/Атлантический/Тихий океан

principal - главный