Geographical position

The United States of America is situated in the central part of the North American continent.

Square: over nine million square kilometers.

Population: about 290 mln people now.

The country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific Ocean in the west.

It stretches from:

Canada (north)

Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California (south).

Its territory also includes the states of Alaska, in the north-west corner of North America, and Hawaii, in the mid-Pacific Ocean.

The U.S.A. is divided into three areas: Eastern area — highland with Appalachian Mountains, Central area — plain, and Western mountainous area including the Cordilleras and the Rocky Mountains.

Between the mountain ranges are the central lowlands, called the prairie, and the Eastern Lowlands, called the Mississippi Valley.

The north-eastern part – the five Great Lakes — Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario. The lakes are joined together by short rivers and canals and cut by rapids (the greatest is Niagara Falls in Canada). The waters of the five lakes have the outlet into the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River. In the west of the U.S.A. there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.

The greatest rivers of the U.S.A: the Colorado and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific Ocean, the Mississippi with its tributaries — the Missouri and the Ohio — flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Hudson river, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

The rivers in the west are unsuitable for navigation as they are cut by deep rapids. They serve as a great source of electric power.

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Climate

There are different climatic zones on the territory of the USA, but on the whole the climate of the country is continental. However, it varies from tropical in Hawaii to arctic in Alaska.

The climate of the U.S.A. is affected by many things, such as the distance from the Equator, Landforms, Oceans.

Hudson Bay in Canada is a great reservoir of cold because of its connection with the Arctic Ocean. From there vast masses of cold air flow over the land and lower the temperature, especially in the eastern partof the US.

Oceans also effect climate. Winters are colder and summers are warmer in the interior than along the coasts. Winters in the northern part of the country are long and cold.

Along the western coast the climate is warm, because the land there is protected from the cold winds of the north by the great mountain range, the Rocky Mountains.

To the east, beyond the mountains, there is a vast dry region, the soil here is arid, the rainfall is low, and the drought must be overcome by irrigation. This dry land extends from Canada to Mexico.

The Southern Coastlands enjoy a humid subtropical climate, a long growing season, mild winter temperatures and warm humid summers. In a few locations of the South it is possible to harvest two or even more crops in one growing season. However, this territory is vulnerable and often exposed to hurricanes(large cyclonic storms generated by intense solar heating over large bodies of warm water) which devastate the area.

Read the following proper nouns correctly or Kirpu will punish you!!!!!!! mhahahahahaahaahahhahahahahahahah

Coastal Plain ['koustal plein], Rio Grande ['ri:ou 'grændi], Chesapeake Bay ['t∫i:zpi:k bei], Piedmont falls [pjə'moη fo:lz], Interior Plains [in'tiəriə pleinz], The Gulf of Mexico [g/\lfəv 'meksikou], Hudson Bay ['h/\dsn bei],Panama [,pænə'ma:], Appalachian Mountains [,æpəleit∫iən 'mauntinz], Cordilleras[,ko:di'ljərəz], the Rocky Mountains ['roki 'mauntinz], Lake Superior ['leik sju'piəriə],Huron['hjuərən], Michigan ['mi∫igən], Erie ['iəri], Ontario[on'teəriou], St. Lawrence River, the Mississippi [,misi'sipi], the Missouri [mi'zuəri], the Ohio[ou'haiəu], the Niagara Falls [nai'ægərə 'fo:lz], the Colorado[,kolə'ra:dou], the Columbia [kə’l/\mbiə]

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 964