The United States of America is one of the largest countries in the world. It is situated in the central part of North America. It also includes Alaska in the North and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The area of the USA is almost ten million square kilometres. It is washed by the Pacific and the AtlanticOceans.
The USA is a federal presidential constitutional republic. It consists of fifty states and the District of Columbia, a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. Each of these states has its own government. The president is the head of the country. He is elected for four years. At the moment the president of the USA is Barack Obama.
The national flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal red and white stripes with a blue rectangle bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars. The 50 stars represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the 13 British colonies that became the first states.
The population of the United States is more than 300 million people. People of different nationalities live in the USA. The national language of the country is American English.
As the USA is a large country, the climate is different in different regions. For example, the Pacific coast is a region of mild winters and warm, dry summers, but the eastern continental region is watered with rainfall. The region around the Great Lakes has changeable weather. The climate of Alaska is arctic.
There are many mountains in the USA. The Rocky Mountains, the Cordillera and the Sierra Nevada are in the west and the Appalachian Mountains are in the east.The main rivers of the country are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Colorado, the Rio Grande and the Columbia. The five Great Lakes on the border with Canada are the largest and the deepest in the USA.
More than 80 % of Americans live in cities and towns. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit and some others.
The USA is a highly developed country. It is one of the main producers of oil, coal and natural gas. The USA is rich in mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zinc, copper and others. Machine-building, chemical and electronic industries are the most important. American agriculture produces a lot of food products: grain, fruit, and vegetables. The USA is the top world producer of corn and soybeans.
Answer the questions:
  1. Where is the USA situated?
  2. How many states does the US consist of?
  3. What is the District of Columbia (DC)?
  4. Describe the flag of the USA.
  5. What kind of climate does the USA have?
  6. Name the main mountains and rivers in the USA.
  7. Name the largest cities in the country.
  8. What are the most important industries in the country?