USA (0)

1 Hindamata

Tallinna Inglise Kolledž
Topic
United States of America
Mari-Liis Pakats
Tallinn 2007
Introduction 3
Geographical Position 3
Geographical Regions 4
Climate 5
Natural Resources 6
History 7
Culture 8
Materials 10

Introduction

The United States of America is an enormous country . It is the third largest in the world after Russia and Canada . In the USA there are 50 states of which 48 lie together. The population of The USA is about 300 million people. The territory is about 10 million square kilometers.
Its geography is very diverse ranging from moist rainforests to dry deserts and bald mountain peaks. There are two big mountain ranges , one of them is the Rocky Mountains and the other is The Appalachian Mountains.
The Capital of The USA is Washington D.C. Other big and famous cities are New York , Los Angeles , Houston, Chicago and Las Vegas .
The national anthem of the United States is “The Star -Spangled Banner ", with lyrics written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key.
There are 6 time zones. From east to west they are: Eastern Standard Time, which is 5 hours behind Greenwich Time, Central Standard Time, Mountain Standard Time, which is 7 hours behind Greenwich Time, Pacific Standard Time. Alaska and Hawaii have their own time zones: Alaska Standard Time and Hawaii Standard Time.

Geographical Position

The USA lies in the Northern Hemisphere in North America. It covers a big part of the continent and is also the third largest country in the world. The country consists of 50 states, but two of them lie separately. One of them is Alaska, which is near the Arctic Circle. And the other state is Hawaii, which is a group of island is the Pacific Ocean. The USA shares the border with Canada in the north and Mexico in the south . In the east the coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. In the south there is the Gulf of Mexico. The highest mountain in the country is Mount McKinley, which is in Alaska. It’s about 6 km high. But the lowest point is in Death Valley and its 89 m below sea level.
Relief
About half of the United States’ territory is covered by plateaus and mountains. The eastern part of the country is occupied by the Appalachian Mountains, which in the north come close to the Atlantic coast and in the south are separated from it by the Atlantic Lowland . The Appalachian Mountains are old and worn down.
West of the Appalachians stretch the Central Plains, the Great Plains, and the Mexican Lowland.
The Central Plains are 500-400 m high and have a hilly relief in the north. The Great Plains are a deeply cut plateau with the heights of 500 m in the east to 1600 m in the west. The flat Mexican Lowland, with the height of up to 150 m, is swampy along the Gulf coast and surrounded by a strip of marshes.
The Cordilleras consist of rows of mountain ranges with the heights of up to 3000-5000 m. In Alaska the mountain ranges stretch in the west-east direction.
On the territory of the USA the mountain ranges stretch in the north-south direction. The first from the east are the Rocky Mountains. West of the Rockies lie vast plateaus and tablelands: the volcanic Columbia Plateau, the Great Basin, the Colorado Plateau.
Further west is a narrow belt of the Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Range Still further west lies an area of valleys.
The forests cover 30% of the US. In the southern part of Alaska grow coniferous trees, notably spruces and firs. Around the Great Lakes and New England are mixed forests of pines, maples, elms , birches, oaks and beeches. Along the Gulf of Mexico grow magnolia, red and black gum, cypress and mangrove.

Geographical Regions

The territory of the United can be divided into eight regions: 1) New England; 2) the Mid-Atlantic region ; 3) the South; 4) the Midwest; 5) the Southwest; 6) the Rocky Mountain region; 7) the Pacific Northwest and Alaska; 8) California and Hawaii.
New England is highly industrial , but it also has many fields, woods and small towns. New England is the part of the United States that is most like "old" England. It includes six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The Mid-Atlantic region plays an important role in the United States. Its cities include Washington D. C., the nation 's capital, and New York City, the nation's financial centre . The Mid-Atlantic region is densely populated. It includes six states: New York, New Jersey , Pennsylvania, Delaware , Maryland and West Virginia.
The South is economically, historically and culturally a distinct region. With its warm climate and rich soil, it developed an economy based on cotton export . Conflicts between the North and the South, especially over slavery, led to the Civil War in 1861. The South preserves its traditions , for example good cooking and a slower, more hospitable way of life. The South includes eleven states.
The Midwest is a large, economically important region. It contains major industrial cities and much farmland. Geographically, the Midwest can be subdivided into three smaller regions: the Great Lakes area with many lakes, hills and forests; the prairie area south of it, which is flat and has good soil for farming; the Great Plains area to the west, much drier than the prairie.
The Southwest is characterized by geographical variety: from humid lands in eastern Texas to drier prairies in Oklahoma and western Texas to mountains and deserts in Arizona and New Mexico. The Southwest area is rich in minerals. Cattle -breeding is also an important part of the Southwest's economy.
The Rocky Mountain region includes the earth's youngest mountains. They have steep slopes and many peaks and picturesque valleys. The region isn’t very populated. Most of the population is engaged in mining , cattle-breeding and farming.
The Pacific Northwest and Alaska region is noted for its natural beauty: high steep mountains, forests and greatly indented coastlines. Portland and Seattle are important ports for trade with Asia .
California and Hawaii. These two states are grouped together mainly because they are relatively near each other: California is the state which is situated nearer to Hawaii than any other state. They are not alike: California is one of the largest and most populated states; Hawaii is one of the smallest and least populated ones . Yet there is one thing these two states have in common: lots of sun and sand .

Rivers, Lakes
The longest river in the United States is the Mississippi with its west tributary Missouri . Altogether they are about 7,300 km long. The other main tributary of the Mississippi, flowing into it from the east, is the Ohio River. The Mississippi flows to the south and empties into the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans . Another important river of the United States is the Hudson River which flows across the northeastern part of the country and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at New York.
World-famous is the region of the Great Lakes, situated in the north-east of the United States bordering Canada. It is a system of five great lakes (Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario ) joined together by natural channels. They are the biggest fresh water bodies in the world. The Niagara Falls, situated on the short Niagara River joining Lakes Erie and Ontario, is famous all over the world and attract lots of tourists. The waters of the Five Great Lakes have their outlet into the Atlantic Ocean by the St. Lawrence River, flowing mostly across the territory of Canada.

Climate

Almost every type of climate can be found in America, because it’s very big. It’s arctic in Alaska and tropical in Florida. The climate is not usually temperate, in spite of the latitude. The North American landmass heightens the variations in temperature and rainfall. Most of the country has a moist continental climate with hot summers and cold winters.
There are no natural barriers either in the north or in the south. This allows dry and cold air flow in from Canada and warm, humid from the Gulf of Mexico. In this region summers are very hot and humid and rainfall decreases to the west as a result of the rain shadow created by the West Pacific range and the Sierra Nevada. The Pacific coast is almost rainless in the summer . In winter there is commonly spray like rain. But the climate remains warm and dry especially in California.
The climate on the Atlantic coast is continental with cool summers and rather warm winters with a permanent snow cover in mountainous regions. Further to the south the climate gets warmer, with warmer winters and hotter summers.
The south western part of the country is the driest and the hottest. Death Valley is also located there. The second highest temperature on earth 55.5C was recorded in the valley. The place got its name because of gold seekers. Hoping to find a shorter way to gold fields, many of them died crossing the valley during the 1849 Gold Rush .
Economy, Agriculture
The United States is a country of highly developed economy.
Most American industry is located in the eastern and Midwestern parts, around the Great Lakes and also on the Pacific coast. The U. S. engineering products are known all over the world – the country produces planes , rockets, spaceships, cars, agricultural machinery, ships etc. Electronics has become a major industry. The role of service and leisure industries has also grown . Canned fish and timber are the chief products of the state of Alaska, while Hawaii’s are sugar , nuts and canned pineapple.
Textile industry is also well-developed, especially in the South near the large cotton plantations in the Mississippi Valley.
Agriculture is very wide - spread , above all in the prairie regions, where wheat and other grain crops are grown. Besides providing its own people with food, the US sends much food to other countries. Dairy cattle is bred mainly in the eastern part, beef cattle in the prairies. Poultry farms are near the big cities and vegetables and potatoes are grown all over the country. California is famous for its fruit plantations.

Natural Resources

The United States of America is rich in coal , iron and oil. There are coal-mines in the Cordillera Mountains, in the Kansas City region and in the east near Birmingham and Pittsburgh. Iron is mined near the Great Lakes and in the Pittsburgh, Birmingham and Philadelphia areas . In California and Texas there are rich oil-fields. There are also deposits of silver and gold
Animal life
In the Arctic regions of mountain and tundra are found ground squirrels, occasional bear and cold-water fish. Alaskan coastal waters are the habitat of a number of large mammals including walrus and seals. Caribous spend summers in the tundra but migrate into the conifer forest for winter.
The moose ranges throughout the northern United States. In the eastern forests live elks, black bears, deer, foxes, raccoons, skunks and squirrels. Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico live large and more colourful birds such as pelicans and flamingos. Alligators can also be found there. Bison ( buffalo ) are popularly associated with the grasslands, although they once ranged over most of eastern North America before becoming nearly extinct because of hunting. Now they exist only in protected areas. In the western areas live elk, deer, bighorn sheep , mountain goats and a small number of brown bears. The Kodiak bear, the largest carnivore in North America, is found in Alaska.

History

The first people to live in North America came from Asia between 10,000 and 30,000 years ago. At that time, North America and Asia were connected by a land bridge .
Eventually North America became populated by many different tribes of people. They fished, and where soil permitted, planted crops and farmed the land. After the native people came the Vikings . First they discovered Greenland and after a few years they found America. The next one to arrive in America was Christopher Columbus in 1492. He wasn’t actually looking for America. He was looking for a shorter route to the Far East, where he would find valuable silks and spices. Columbus landed on a small island in the Bahamas which Columbus named San Salvador . He thought he had landed on the Spice Islands near India. This is why he named the people he met Indians.
The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620 aboard the Mayflower . The Pilgrims had a feast in 1621, after their first harvest. This feast has become known as "The First Thanksgiving."
The Civil War was the most bitter conflict within the United States. The source of the conflict between the North and the South was about different ways of life. Economy in the South was heavily based on agriculture and growing cotton. The North was heavily industrialized with factories and manufacturing being central to the economy.
Growing and harvesting cotton required large numbers of workers. This work force was made up of about 4 million slaves. By the 1800's, the African slave trade had become illegal. But existing slaves were not freed. Men and women of the North wanted to abolish slavery. The South feared that losing the slaves would have a severe economic impact on cotton plantations.
Abraham Lincoln was elected as the President in 1860, seven Southern states left , or seceded, from the United States. They formed the Confederate States of America. In April 1861 four more states seceded, and the Civil War began. In less than 5 years, more than 600,000 men were killed. Five days after the surrender treaty was signed , President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a Southern sympathizer. But in the end of the war slavery was abolished.
At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States remained neutral. However , attacks on ships by German submarines and the discovery of a German plan to involve Mexico in war with the US led Congress to declare war on Germany in 1917. The arrival of two million military units changed the balance enough to enable the Allies to win the war. The Senate didn’t want US to get involved with European affairs and they did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations.
The 1920’s were a decade in which the tariffs were brought to their highest levels and taxes were reduced. This remarkable rise in living standards, which caused the decade to be called the Roaring Twenties, ended suddenly in October 1929 with the Wall Street crash. The crash was the result of a long period of over production by the nation’s factories and farms. This crash marked the beginning of the worst depression in American history known as the Great Depression. F. D. Roosevelt was the one who helped America out of it. He won the 1932 presidential elections. Over the next two years, millions of unemployed were given jobs and emergency relief was provided .
Relations with Japan worsened and on the morning of 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American naval base in at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. World War II had started . The war ended in 1945 after the Americans had dropped 2 atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki .

Culture

The Culture of the United States is a Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country. Today the United States is a diverse and multi - cultural nation. Its chief early influence was British culture, due to colonial ties with the British that spread the English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances. Other important influences came from other parts of Europe , especially countries from which large numbers immigrated such as Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Italy .
Due to the extent of American culture there are many unique subcultures within the United States.
The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family's own cultural heritage . Recent immigrants tend to eat food similar to that of their country and Americanized versions of these cultural foods , such as American Chinese cuisine or Italian -American cuisine often eventually appear.
Government , Political structure
The US is a federal republic where the Head of State and Government is president, who serves a four- year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice.
In the United States is an indirect democracy - the people rule through the representatives they elect . In the beginning, only white men could vote . Over time, the vote has been given to more and more people. Today any citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote.
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the country's political system and is the basis for its laws . In the 200 years of its history, the United States has greatly grown and changed. Yet the Constitution works as well today as when it was written. Each state has its own constitution and in each state there are state senators and representatives, state court systems and like the President of the country, a governor of the state.
Symbols
The Liberty Bell is a huge bronze bell that symbolizes freedom of the United States of America. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was rung on July 8, 1776 to proclaim the independence of the United States of America from England.
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial is a huge mountain sculpture of the four US presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. They were chosen to represent the founding and growth of the United States. The work was designed by the sculptor John Gutzon Borglum and after his death, his son finished the work. The work took 14 years, but work was done for about only 6 of those years.
The United States Flag has thirteen red and white stripes, which represent the first thirteen colonies . It also has 50 white stars on a blue background in the top left corner. 50 stars represent the 50 states in the U.S. The first U.S. flag was designed during the War of Independence in 1777. The flag has been changed many times since then – new stars are added each time new states join the union. The American Flag is also called “Stars and Stripes”.
The Statue of Liberty is located in the harbour of New York on Liberty Island. The statue, the island and the nearby Ellis Island were declared a national monument in 1924. The statue symbolizing liberty is in the form of a woman wearing flowing robes and a spiked crown holding a torch in her right hand and carries a book inscribed “July 4, 1776 in her left. Broken chains, symbolizing the overthrow of tyranny, lie at her feet . The Statue was given by France to the United States to commemorate the century of U.S. independence in 1876. The statue is one of the largest in the world and is 93.5m tall . The statue has become a global symbol of freedom, marking the arrival of millions of immigrants to the U.S.