The United States of America. The United States is situated in the central part of the North American continent (except for Alaska and Hawaii)

The United States is situated in the central part of the North American continent (except for Alaska and Hawaii). It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. In the north it borders Canada and in the south it borders Mexico. The United States is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, and China. It has an area of about 10 million square kilometers and its population is over 270 million people. The great majority of the population is English-speaking Americans.

The US consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The largest state is Alaska. Hawaii is one of the smallest states; it is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio are the most heavily populated states, and Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska are the least populated states. The largest cities are New-York, Los-Angeles, Chicago, San-Francisco and Philadelphia.

The continental part of the USA consists of 4 geographical parts: 2 highland and 2 lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains and the Cordillera. The Appalachian Mountains are ancient, strongly destroyed mountains of no great height. The valleys between them are rich in coal. It is the oldest mountain system in the US.

Unlike the Appalachian Mountains the Cordillera is not a continuous chain. It consists of several high ranges, which are the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains there is the Central Plain and the Great Plains.

The main rivers of the USA are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande, the Colorado, the Columbia and the Hudson River. The five Great Lakes, between the USA and Canadaare joined together by short rivers or canals. The region around the Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather.

The USA has many natural resources, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The economy of the US is based upon free enterprise.

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It’s the world’s leading producer of copper and oil and the world’s second producer of iron ore and coal. Among the most important manufacturing industries are aircraft, cars, textiles, radio and television sets, armaments, furniture and paper.

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, each of which has its own government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington, DC. According to the US Constitution the powers of the government are divided into 3 branches: the executive, headed by the President, the legislative, exercised by the Congress, and the judicial.The Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.The Supreme Court is made up of nine judges. They have to make sure that the President and the Congress follow the Constitution. Americans are very proud of their Constitution. It was written more than 200 years ago and it is still working! There are two main political parties in the USA: the Republican and the Democratic, though there’s hardly any difference between their political lines.