Modern continents hold clues to their distant past.

Evidence from
fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the
plates once fit together.

Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some
life "rode" on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new
species. Other life dispersed to new areas as continents reconnected,
oceans narrowed, or chains of volcanic islands formed. Finding
identical or similar fossils in areas separated by vast distances were
some of the first clues that scientists used to reconstruct past plate
movement. This distribution of fossils led to theories that the southern
continents were once joined in a supercontinent called Gondwana.

Similar geologic formations on different continents show historic land

connections. Antarctica’s mountains are an extension of South
America’s Andes. If Southern Hemisphere continents were
reassembled into a single landmass, glacial remnants in Africa and
India would realign.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US)

or America, is a country consisting of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing
territories, and various possessions.[h] At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2), it is the
world's third or fourth-largest country by total area[c]. Most of the country is located in central North
America between Canada and Mexico. With an estimated population of over 328 million, the U.S. is
the third most populous country in the world. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most
populous city is New York City.
Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago.
[20]
 European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen
British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the
colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783, leading to
independence.[21] The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America
throughout the 19th century—gradually acquiring new territories,[22] displacing Native Americans,
and admitting new states—until 1848 when it spanned the continent.[22] During the second half of the
19th century, the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States.[23]
[24]
 The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a global military
power.
The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower. It was the first country to
develop nuclear weapons and the only country to have used them in warfare. During the Cold War,
the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the
1969 Apollo 11 mission, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. The end of the Cold
War and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world's sole superpower.
[25]

The United States is a federal republic and a representative democracy. It is a founding member of

the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American
States (OAS), NATO, and other international organizations. It is a permanent member of the United
Nations Security Council.
A highly developed country, the United States is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP,
the second-largest by purchasing power parity, and accounts for approximately a quarter of global
GDP.[26] The United States is the world's largest importer and the second-largest exporter of goods,
by value.[27][28] Although its population is 4% of the world total,[29] it holds 31% of the total wealth in the
world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country.
[30]
 Despite income and wealth disparities, the United States continues to rank very high in measures
of socioeconomic performance, including average wage, median income, median wealth, human
development, per capita GDP, and worker productivity.[31][32] It is the foremost military power in the
world, making up more than a third of global military spending,[33] and is a leading political, cultural,
and scientific force internationally.[34]