T H E UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The USA is a country lying in the southern half of North America with additional territory in Alaska and Hawaii in the Pacific ocean. It is made up of 50 states and the District of Columbia (the capital Washington, D.C.).
The USA borders with Canada and Mexico. The border with Mexico follows the Rio Grande and the border with Canada crosses the Great Lakes following the Saint Lawrence River.
Population: more than 250 million inhabitants.
Geography:
the west coast is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean
the east coast by the North Atlantic Ocean
Mountains : - in the east – Appalachian Mountains
-in the west – Rocky Mountains
-the highest mountain is MountMcKinley in Alaska.
Lakes : on the south-eastern Canadian border – five Great Lakes (Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior) + Niagara Falls.
Rivers: the most famous – Mississippi (maybe because Mark Twain and his Huckleberry Finn, its name is of Indian origin and means “great water”, it is the third longest river in the world after the Nile and the Amazon)
other rivers e.g. the Hudson, the Rio Grande(forms natural boundary between Mexico and the USA), the Alabama, the Columbia, the Sacramento, the Colorado River(famous for its canyons – the most famous – Grand Canyon), the Saint Lawrence River.
American national parks: * first founded – Yellowstone (in the state of Wyoming)
* Grand Canyon of the Colorado River (in the state ofArizona)
The seven natural wonders of America:
Death Valley (California) – is a 250 km valley between two Californian mountain ranges. It is the hottest and the lowest place in the USA, and at one point – BadwaterBasin – you arrive at the lowest place in the western hemisphere (86 metres below the sea level). Summer temperatures in Death Valley can reach 54°C.
The Grand Canyon– is one of the most important geological sites in the world (some of the rock are over 1,800 million years old) and it is home to a great diversity of wildlife. (it is 400 km long, 30 km wide and 2,000 metres deep at its deepest point).
The Great Lakes – the largest and the deepest is the Lake Superior.
Niagara Falls (New YorkState and Ontario, Canada) –are formed where the Niagara River flows between Lake Erie and LakeOntario. Thre are two main waterfalls: the Horseshoe Falls in Canada and the American Falls in the USA.
Glacier Bay (Alaska)–is a nature reserve and is used extensively for scientific research.
Old Faithful (Idaho)- much of the YellowstoneNational Park is volcanic rock and there are over 10,000 geysers and hot in the park (the biggest concentration in the world). The most famous geyser is called Old Faithful, erupts about every 75 minutes. The eruption last for 1-5 minutes and shoot hot water up to 50 metres in the air.
Giant Redwood and Bristlecone Pine Trees (California)- general sherman, a giant redwood tree in the SequoiaNational Park, is 84 metres tall and is the largest plant in the world.
The oldest living tree called Methuselah is the brislecone pine tree in White Mountains (it is over 4,000 years old).
American English:
in comparison with British English, American English is simpler in spelling (AmE program - BrE programme) and grammar (AmE do you have – BrE have you got ?) different vocabulary (AmE highway – BrE motorway, AmE fall – BrE autumn, AmE faucet – BrE tap, AmE sidewalk – BrE pavement, AmE streetcar – BrE tram, AmE elevator – BrE lift etc.) and some words have different pronunciation
Political system:
The USA is a federal republic which consist of fifty states and the District of Columbia. Each state has its own state government, customs, education but each state has to keep to the Constitution.
The head of the federal government is the President.
History:
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 and met native Americans (he named them Indians because he believe he was in India)
After that – European started to settle in America – the first English colony – in Virginia – a group of English Puritans (known as the Pilgrim Fathers) arrived to America. They left England because they had a conflict with the King James I and his Church.
They didn’t know the country- half of them died of starvation or epidemics during the first winter. Next year – they manage to have big harvest – they thanked God – Thanksgiving Day is celebrated since this time (a feast of thanksgiving).
After Pilgrim Fathers- other settlers - Dutch, French, Irish.
18th century – 13 colonies existed (along the Atlantic coast – British colonies, west up to Rocky Mountains – French colonies)- there were wars between the British and the French.
The British government raised taxes on the colonies- colonies weren’t satisfied- they started the protest which ended in the War of independence (1775 – 1 783), the colonies didn’t want to be dependent on the British government.
July 4, 1776- Declaration of Independence was adopted – establishment of the USA.
The first President – George Washington
19th century – more settlers from Europe – half of them stayed in the North where industry developed rapidly.
the South was agricultural with its slave system (about half a million slaves from Africa).
the North wanted to abolish the slavery - the South against - the Civil War (1861 – 1 865) – the war between the South and the North - result – a victory of the North – President Lincoln gave the slaves freedom
20th century – immigration continued (America is called “melting pot” of nations)
World War II – many Jewish refugees
American has had about 50 Presidents – important names – G. Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, J.F. Kennedy
Holiday centres:
the most attractive places :YellowstoneNational Park, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Disneyland, (in Florida, Los Angeles)
Washington,D.C., New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hollywood
Nashville – the home of American country music
New Orleans – the cradle of jazz music
Memphis – where Elvis Presley lived
Las Vegas – casinos
Miami – sunshine state of Florida
Mt.Rushmore (in South Dakota) – the sixty-feet-high heads of four American presidents –Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln-are carved into a mountainside