Geographical position.

The geographical position, physical background, climate, vegetation,

fauna and natural resources of the USA.

The United States of America is in general acceptance the name of the country composed of 50 states joined in a federal republic. Its citizens are universally known as Americans. The US holds the leading position in the world politics and economy. It is the fourth largest country in size after Russia, Canada and China. It is the third in population after China and India.

The total area of the USA  is over 9 million square kilometers, the population of the country is close to 300 million people.

The territory of the USA consists of three main parts: the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii.

The continental US occupies  a large territory between 49 and 25 NL and is situated in the central and southern parts of North America. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. In the north the USA borders on Canada, in the south – on Mexico. It consists of  the Atlantic coastal plain, the Appalachian Highlands, a vast interior plain (the prairies), the Rocky Mountains belt, the basin and plateaus west of the Rockies, the mountains and valleys of the Pacific coast. Mount Mitchell (2037 meters high) is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains, Mount Whitney (4418 meters high) in the Sierra Nevada is the highest peak of the west. The lowest point of the USA, Death Valley in California, is 85 meters below sea level.

Alaska, which was bought from Russia in 1867 and became the 49-th state in 1959,is the largest one in area. It borders on Canada and is washed by the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans. The highest peak  of the USA, Mount McKinley (6194 meters high), is here.

Hawaii became the 50-th state in 1959. It is a chain of 122 islands of volcanic origin situated in the Pacific Ocean. Of two active volcanoes, Mauna Loa is the largest. The most impressive dead volcano is Mauna Kea.

The highest mountains of the Rockies form the Continental Divide. Rivers to the east of the divide flow to the Atlantic Ocean, and rivers to the west of it flow into the Pacific Ocean. The rivers of the east are navigable and used for transportation of goods. The Mississippi is the largest river of the USA. The Missouri and the Ohio Rivers flow into the Mississippi, and The Mississippi flows south into the Gulf of Mexico. The rivers of the west are not quite suitable for navigation. The largest of them, the Columbia and the Colorado, flow through deep canyons. Being cut by rapids, the rivers of the west serve as an immense source of electric power. The Columbia and its tributaries generate about 1/3 of all hydroelectric power of the USA. The Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border supplies electric power for much of the south-west. Other big rivers of the US are the Yukon, the Rio Grande, the Red River, the Arkansas and the Tennessee Rivers.

In the north-eastern part of the USA there are the Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario), They are connected by natural channels which are cut by rapids. The greatest of these are the Niagara Falls. The waters of the 5 lakes have their outlet into the Atlantic Ocean  via the St. Lawrence Seaway – a joint US-Canadian Venture – and are also connected with the Mississippi and the Hudson Rivers. The lakes form the largest body of fresh water in the world and play an important role in the economic life of the USA. Large ships carry a lot of iron, coal and wheat from one point to another on the Great  Lakes. Transported by water these goods can be moved more cheaply than by road or railway. The states situated around the Great Lakes form the so-called Midwest Industrial Belt, known for its highly developed heavy industry. The climate in this part of the country is quite cold in winter and for three months of the year navigation must stop as the lakes become frozen. Still, the amount of goods carried across the lakes is huge.

In the west of the USA there is another big lake – Great Salt Lake in Utah.

The USA is a large country and it has several different climatic zones. Temperatures range from the Arctic cold of northern Alaska to the subtropical warmth of Hawaii and the Gulf Coast states. In the north  there is heavy snow in winter and the temperature may go down to 40 degrees below zero. The south has a subtropical climate with temperatures as high as 49 degrees in summer. The lowest  temperatures were observed in Alaska (-64 degrees), the highest – in Death Valley (+56.7 degrees). The temperature on the Pacific Ocean is much higher than that on the Atlantic. The US territory can be roughly divided into halves by the 50-centimeter-rainfall line: the eastern half of the nation and the north-western coastal region receive ample (enough) rainfall, but the area between does not. Desert covers much of the south-west, where the annual rainfall is as little as 12 centimeters. The greatest rainfall is generally in Washington, Oregon, Florida and Hawaii.

On the whole, the USA has a continental climate. The prevailing winds are from the west. The circulation of air often takes place in cyclonic or whirling storms. One kind of storm is known as the West Indian Hurricane. It originates in the tropics and enters the USA from the Gulf Coast, bringing a lot of destruction. There are certain to be several hurricanes each year. Some of them are so strong that they reach the north and cause severe damage in areas as far as New York. The Midwest is similarly subject to damage from violent wind storms, commonly called "tornadoes”. There are several dozens of tornadoes each year. They are short-lived and likely to cause devastation in a restricted area. However, tornadoes are more difficult to predict than hurricanes.

Nearly half the country’s area is farmland. 80% of the farms are owned by the families who live and work on them. There are several major food producing regions. The Midwest Farm Belt (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri) produces mainly maize, hogs and dairy products. The Great Plains (Illinois, Kansas) are famous for wheat and beef cattle. In the California Valley various fruits and vegetables are grown. Hawaii is also known for its plantations of tropical fruits.

The USA is rich in mineral and natural resources. Granite and marble are mined in Vermont, coal – in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, petrol – in Texas and Louisiana. Washington and Oregon are rich in timber. The western states are particularly rich in various ores. New Mexico is the leading uranium producer, Utah and Arizona have copper, Montana and Idaho – silver. Arkansas is the richest in bauxite ore, from which aluminum is produced. Gold was found in California, Idaho and Colorado.

The greatest industrial and commercial development has been in the east of the USA. New England, a long standing financial and trading center, is also known for electronics, machinery and chemical industry.  Middle Atlantic states are famous for engineering: they produce helicopters, jet engines, nuclear submarines and missiles. Other centers are in the Midwest and Far West, with rapid growth  in the North West and South, which has traditionally been known for agricultural products. The largest concentration of population is an 800-kilometer strip which extends from southern New Hampshire to northern Virginia and in which 1/5 of the American people live.

Vegetation and fauna are well preserved mostly in national parks. However, in the north-east and around the Great Lakes prevail combinations of coniferous and leaf bearing forests (pine, fir, sugar maple, lime and ash tree) with meadows and arable lands. In the lower zone of the Appalachian Mountains the most common ones are oak and maple trees. The central part of the USA is occupied by prairies. These are flat grassy areas used for farming. In the north-west there are powerful coniferous forests. Much of the south-west is a desert with typical desert plants. Giant sequoias and mammoth trees grow on the Pacific coast, especially in California. On the coastal lowlands and mountain slopes there numerous plantations of sugar-cane, pine-apples, bananas and other tropical fruits. In the south of Florida palms, ficus, papayas and marsh-grass are widely distributed.

In leaf bearing forests one can find bears, mooses, deer and squirrels. In the Appalachian Mountains deer and bobcats can be seen. In the south-east of the country there are alligators, New World opossums, turtles, flamingoes, pelicans and colibris. In the Cordillera one can see the rock goat, the grizzly bear, in the south – the jaguar and the armadillo. In Alaska such tundra animals as tundra wolves, polar bears, sables and ermines are distributed. The coastal waters of the Atlantic include cod and herring. In the Pacific Ocean salmon, tunny, crabs and shrimps are caught.

The fauna in Hawaii is rich in different kinds of insects and birds. Plants and animals native to the islands are found nowhere else on earth. The vegetation and fauna of Hawaii are unique in many respects.

Typical American animals, such as buffalos, antilopes, coyotes (prairie-wolves), rattle-snakes are not widely distributed nowadays. They can be seen in national parks.