SURFACE FEATURES

The United States has an enormous variety of physical features and a wide diversity of animal and plant life.

The country may be divided into the following five main geographical divisions.

(1) The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain.

(2) The Appalachian Highland.

(3) The Interior Plain.

(4) The Cordilleran, or Western, Highland.

(5) The Pacific Slope.

THE ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTAL PLAIN runs parallel the Atlantic Ocean and becomes much wider along the Gulf of Mexico.

THE APPALACHIAN HIGHLAND runs roughly side by side in a north-south direction from New England to Alabama.

THE INTERIOR PLAIN is the chief agricultural section of the country. It stretches from the Appalachian Highland westward to the edge of the Rocky Mountains. The Great Plains just east of the Rockies are part of the Interior Plain.

THE CORDILLERAN, or WESTERN, HIGHLAND extends westward from the Interior Plain to the Pacific Ocean. The Rocky Mountains make up the first subdivision of the Cordilleran Highland.

The second subdivision is the Colorado Plateaus are great steppe lands through which the Colorado River has carved deep canyons. The most famous of these is the Grand Canyon in northwestern Arizona.

The third subdivision of the Cordilleran Highland is the Sierra Nevada-Cascade range, which extends from the Canadian boundary southward almost to the Mexican border.

ALASKA lies beyond the boundaries of the USA stretching southward from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific. This peninsula is sharply divided into three distinct regions. In the north are the Brooks Range. Central Alaska lies between the Brooks Range and the Alaska Range, where Mount McKinley rises 6,187 meters - the highest peak in North America. The Bering Straight separates Alaska from Russia, and the island chain of the Aleutians extends far to the southwest.

The eight major islands and over 100 small islets of HAWAII - like a chain of beads some 2,575 kilometers long - lie upon the Pacific. The largest island is Hawaii with wonderful beaches of yellow, white and black sands.

Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, towers above the scenic Hawaiian National Park. Tropical plants, sandy desert, waterfalls, craters and caves make the 780-square-kilometer park a tourist attraction.

The best known of all the islands is the third largest, Oahu. Honolulu, the capital is situated here.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1077