The United States of America. The United States is situated in the central part of the North American continent (except for Alaska and Hawaii)

The United States is situated in the central part of the North American continent (except for Alaska and Hawaii). It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific Ocean in the west. In the north it borders Canada and in the south it borders Mexico. The United States is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, and China. It has an area of about 10 million square kilometers and its population is over 270 million people. The great majority of the population is English-speaking Americans. There arc many ethnic groups in the United States. The largest group is Black Americans (about 12% of the population).

The US consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is a special federal area where the capital of the country, Washington, is situated. The largest state is Alaska. Hawaii is one of the smallest states; it is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. California, New York, Texas. Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio are the most heavily populated states, and Wyoming, Vermont and Alaska are the least populated states. The largest cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San-Francisco and Philadelphia.

The continental part of the USA consists of 4 geographical parts: 2 highland and 2 lowland regions. The highland regions are the Appalachian Mountains in the cast and the Cordillera in the west. The Appalachian Mountains are ancient, strongly destroyed mountains of no great height. The valleys between them are rich in coal. It is the oldest mountain system in the US.

Unlike the Appalachian Mountains of the cast, the Cordillera is not a continuous chain. It consists of several high ranges, which arc the Rocky Mountains on the cast and the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range on the west. The Rocky Mountains are considered to be young, high, rough and irregular in shape. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains there is the vast Central Plain and the Plateau of Prairies or the Great Plains.

The main rivers of the USA arc the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Rio Grande, the Colorado, the Columbia and the Hudson River. The five Great Lakes, between the USA and Canada, include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Eric and Lake Ontario. They are all joined together by short rivers or canals, and the St. Lawrence River joins them to the Atlantic Ocean. The region around the Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather. In the west of the USA there is another lake called the Great Salt Lake.

The USA has many natural resources, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. The economy of the US is based upon free enterprise.

The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has no " official" national language. The basic language spoken throughout the country is American English. The second language is Spanish.

The main symbol of the USA is the national flag, which is often called " The Stars and Stripes". As there arc 50 states in the USA, there are 50 stars on the American flag. The flag also has 13 stripes: seven red stripes and six white stripes. There is one stripe for each of the first thirteen colonies of the United States. Other most famous symbols of the USA are the bold eagle and the Statue of Liberty, which is situated in New York on Liberty Island.

1. Where is the USA situated? 2. What's the total area of the country? 3. How many states does the USA consist of? 4. What is the capital of the country? 5. What is the population of the USA? 6. What mountains in the USA do you know? 7. What arc the largest rivers? 8. What lakes in the USA do you know? Where are they situated? 9. What is the official national language in the USA? 10. Can you compare the geographical positions of Russia and the USA?