The Federal Republic of the United States of America lies mostly in North America. 48 contiguous states, plus the District of Columbia, lie south of Canada and north of Mexico. The State of Alaska is northwest of Canada. The state of Hawaii, the only part of the country outside of North America, is in Polynesia, in the northern Pacific.
The United States of America (or United States, USA, US, or America) has an area of 3,794,085 square miles (9,826,635 square kilometers). It is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada.
Washington, DC (District of Columbia) is the capital of the US.
The USA has a presidential system of government.
The official currency is the dollar, which is equal to 100 cents.
The eastern part of the United States of America contains the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Appalachian Mountains.
The Atlantic Coast has many bars, spits and barrier beaches. Cape Hatteras, on the North Carolina coast, is surrounded by sand formations that extend 200 miles (320 kilometers) along the coast.
Maine has a 3,500 mile (5,630 kilometer) rocky coastline with many islands, promontories and inlets.
The Finger Lakes in northwestern New York State are a group of long, narrow lakes that were formed when glaciers cut into deep material deposits that were left by a previous glacial advance.
Long Island, Cape Cod and the islands between them are the top of a huge terminal moraine that was formed at the front of a vast ice sheet. When the earth warmed and the seas rose, the ridge of deposited material was flooded.
The Appalachian Mountains formed about 400 million years ago, when continental plates collided to form the supercontinent Pangaea.
Over time, a series of glacial advances have eroded the Appalachians, and rivers have divided them into a number of separate, distinct ranges.
The Allegheny Mountains, in the Appalachians, have large coal reserves.
The Adirondack Mountains are younger than the Appalachians. They were formed when basement rocks were forced upwards by up to 2 miles (3 kilometers) to form a dome.
The Florida Peninsula and the Gulf or Mexico are part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.
In southern Florida lie the Florida Everglades, a 4,000 square mile (10,300 square kilometer) region of subtropical swamps. Many different animals make their home here, including crocodiles, alligators, fish and a large number of rare birds. The Florida Keys are a chain of coral and limestone islands.
A large part of the eastern United States is coved in woodland.
The Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Appalachians, contain more than 130 species of trees.
Southwestern Kentucky has a large limestone region with a vast system of caves, including Mammoth Cave.
The Great Plains and the Mississippi-Missouri River Basin, make up an extensive low-lying, fertile area in the center of the country. The drainage basin of the Mississippi-Missouri system is 1,250,000 square miles (3,2000,000 square miles) in area.
The majority of the contiguous United States is drained by the Mississippi-Missouri River system.
The lower course of the Mississippi has moved many times over the last 5,000 years. Consequently, the delta has several lobes and has been compared to a bird's foot.
The area around the mouth of the Mississippi s known as the bayou.
Here floodwaters are carried, via a series of channels, to swamps.
The terrain around the Great Lakes was formed by glacial action.
Much of Minnesota's terrain shows evidence of a previous ice age, with many lakes, hills and mineral deposits that were left by glaciers.
Oklahoma has a 45 square mile ( 116 kilometer) region of arid, white flats known as the Great Salt Plains. It was created as an ancient salt lake slowly evaporates.
South of Texas is the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border between the United States and Mexico.
Further west are the Rocky Mountains, then intermontane plateaus and finally the mountainous Pacific Coastal Zone.
The Rockies are much younger than the Appalachians - only about 80 million years old.
The Continental Divide, which runs through the Rocky Mountains, separates the rivers that flow east to Hudson Bay, west to the Pacific Ocean and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Colorado Plateau is a dry, rocky region that is broken up by enormous canyons that were formed by the Colorado River.
The most famous of these canyons, the Grand Canyon is 16 miles (25 kilometers) wide in some places.
Desert lies to the north and south of the Colorado Plateau.
The Great Basin, a barren region between the Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains, contain the Great Salt Lake and Great Salt Lake Desert.
Monument Valley, in Arizona and Utah, is famous for its sandstone spires, known as "buttes" which have been formed by and wind and water erosion, cold and heat.
Utah's Rainbow Bridge is the largest natural arch on Earth.
The Badlands of South Dakota contain deep gullies that have been created by water erosion. During periods of torrential rainfall, rain has eroded the soft rocks and soil in the area, forming the gullies.
Devils Tower in Wyoming became the first national monument in 1906. It consist of octagonal pillars which were created when 1,280 foot (390 meter) intrusion of basalt rock cooled.
Yellowstone National Park has hot springs. When the water from the hot springs cools in rock pools, it leaves mineral deposits.
Carlsbad Caverns contains stalactites that have been growing for 100,000 years, as calcium-rich water has seeped into the caves.
The Cascade Mountains are volcanic mountains that have been scoured by glaciers. Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano, is located in the Cascades. It is 14,049 feet (4,392 meters) high.
In 1980, Mount St. Helens, an active volcano in Washington, erupted.
The Columbia and Snake river plateaus contain some of the largest accumulations of lava in the world.
The Mojave Desert is very arid and sparsely populated. The military often uses this area for weapons testing.
California has a broad central valley that separates the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the mountains of the California coast.
The San Andreas Fault runs underneath most of California, which is, consequently, earthquake-prone.
Death Valley in California is one of the hottest places in the world. Temperature at Death Valley have reached 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57 degrees Celsius.) Death Valley is the lowest point in the western hemisphere. It is 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level.
Alaska is primarily wilderness, covered by ice and forest.
The Alaska Mountain Range is the culmination of the mountains of the Pacific coast. The Alaska Range, which is heavily glaciated, extend west to the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutians, an arc of volcanic islands.
Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in then United States, is located in the Alaska Range. Mount McKinley is 20,321 feet (6,914 meters) high.
In the interior of Alaska, there are plains drained by the Yukon river.
Hawaii is made up of an archipelago of 122 volcanic island in Polynesia. The islands consist of the peaks of the largest volcanoes on Earth.
The island of Hawaii, the largest of the islands, is still very active.
There is a tremendous range of climate conditions in the United States.
In most places, the climate is temperate, with continental conditions in the interior.
However, climate can range from desert in the intermontane plateaus to arctic in Alaska.
313,232,044 people live in the United States of America. It is the third most populous country in the world, after China and India.
80% are White, 13% are Black, 4% are Asian and 1% are Native American. There are also some Pacific Islanders.
The main languages spoken are English and Spanish, with 82% of the people speaking English and 11% speaking Spanish.
51% of the people are Protestant, 24% are Roman Catholic, 2% are Mormon, 2% are Jewish, 1% are Muslim and 1% are Buddhist.
The United States of America has the world's largest economy.
Based on services and manufacturing, America's economy is also the world's most technologically advanced.
The primary industries are oil, steel, chemicals, electronics, motor vehicles, food processing, consumer goods, telecommunications, hi-tech, defense and aerospace.
Tourism, banking and finance are very important.
Wall Street in New York is a major international stock exchange.
Agriculture makes up only about 2 percent of national income. However, the US exports more food than it imports. The main industrial crop is cotton. Other important agricultural exports are fruit and grains. Large-scale, mechanized wheat farming is very common in the Midwest and on the Great Plains.
There are many mineral reserves, including reserves of iron ore, lead, zinc and copper.
The USA produces large amounts of oil, coal and natural gas; however, because it is the largest energy user in the world, it still must import a great deal of oil.
The 50 states of the United States of America and their capitals, in alphabetical order, are:
The District of Columbia, where the capital city of Washington, DC is located, is not part of any of the 50 states.
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