Lecture 9

Geography and Composition of the USA

Plan
1. Location.
2. Regions.
3. Population.
4. The Capital.
5. Languages and Religion.
6. Climate.
7. Rivers and Lakes.
8. Mountains.
9. Mineral Resources.
1. Location

The United States of America is the fourth largest country in area after Russia,
China and Canada. It stretches for 4500 kilometers from West to East and 2500
kilometers from North to South. It has an area of 9,83 million km. It boarders on
Canada in the North and Mexico in the South-West. The USA also includes Alaska,
that lies north-west Canada and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

2. Regions

The states of the US, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, are often divided into seven
major regions. Each region is made up of states that have similarities in geography,
climate, economy, traditions and history. The regions are: New England, which
includes six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
and Connecticut.

- The Middle Atlantic States (6) – New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, West Virginia.

- The Southern States (11) - Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Śouth Carolina,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

- The Midwestern States (12) - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,

Illinois, Missouri, lowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.

- The Rocky Mountain States (5) Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

- The Southwestern States (5) - Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and
Nevada.
- The Pacific Coast States (2) – Washington, Oregon, California.

3. Population

The USA is the third largest country in the world The 50 U.S. states vary widely
in size and population. The largest states in area are Alaska, followed by Texas, and
California. The smallest state is Rhode lIsland, with an area of 4,002 sq km. The state
with the largest population is California (36,5 million people), followed by Texas,
and New York. The less populated states are Alaska with only 0.4 persons per square
mile and Nevada (2.6).

Each state is subdivided into counties, with the exception of Louisiana, where
political units are called parishes. The largest cities are (metropolitan areas) New
York City which is often referred to as "the Big Apple" (18.5 million people),
Philadelphia (over 15 million).Los Angeles (9 million people), Chicago (8.15),
Whites make up about 80 percent of the country's population. Blacks form the largest
minority group. They account for about 13 percent of the population. About 4 percent
of the population is of Asian descent. American Indians make up about 1.5 percent of
the population. Hispanics make up 9 percent of the US population.

4. The Capital

Washington, District of Columbia is the capital city and the administrative

district of the US. It was not the first capital of the country. The capital had been
located earlier in New York City and then in Philadelphia. Congress agreed to build a
capital on the banks of the Potomac, land was ceded to the federal When the 1st
government by two states, Maryland and Virginia. Later, it was felt that less land
would be required, so Virginia took back its gift.

Washington is situated on the Potomac river in the District of Columbia. The

terms Washington and District of Columbia are practically synonyms. Washington,
D.C. is near the East Coast. It does not belong to any state, it belongs to all states. It
should not be confused with the State of Washington, located the Pacific Northwest.

The district is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer of America. The

capital is named after George Washington, the first President of the USA. It was
George Washington who selected the place for the District in 1790 and since 1800
the main departments of the US have been there.

It was George Washington who laid the first corner-stone of the Capitol
building, where Congress meet. And it was Washington who participated heavily in
the design and construction of the White House, though he never lived there as his
second term of office expired before the building's completion.
 The city is divided into four quadrants designated Northwest, Northeast,
Southwest and Southeast- with the Capitol building as the center. Thus nearly every
Washington address includes the abbreviations NW, NE, SW or SE following the
house or building number and the street name. These designations are essential
because the majority of the street names are the same in the four quadrants.

Starting from the Capitol, the streets that run from north to south bear the
numbers 1, 2,3, etc.; and the east-west streets are named A, B, C, etc. to the end of
the alphabet. Since the alphabet contains only 26 letters (and only 22 are actually
used – the letters J, X, Y and Z are omitted), those streets that follow the first
alphabetic cycle are two-syllable names in alphabetic order (Ashby, Beecher, Calvert,
Davis, etc.). Àfter the two-syllable alphabet has been exhausted, the streets have
names of three syllables extending away from the Capitol.

5. Languages and Religion

The USA has never had an official language, but English has always been the
chief language spoken in the country. Spanish is the second language and it is
estimated that around 20 % of Americans speak Spanish as their first language.

About 60 per cent of all American people are members of an organized religious
group. Among them about 54 % are Protestants, 25 % are Roman Catholics, 3%
Jews. The percentage of Americans going to Church at least once a week is
significantly higher than in almost all European countries.

6. Climate

The USA has a wide variety of climates, because of its midlatitude location and
vast size. It is famous for its tropical islands of Hawaii and the arctic conditions of
northern Alaska. The majority of Americans live between these two extremes in a
group of climatic regions with unique moisture and temperature patterns.

The Southern states - Florida, Texas, California, Hawaii- have warm

temperatures all the year round. At the same time the states bordering on Canada and
Alaska have very cold winters. Average temperatures range from --13 C in Alaska to
25.7 C in California.

7. Rivers and Lakes

For centuries, Native Americans used rivers, extensively for transportation and
as a source of food and drinking water. Water transportation remains important to the
American lakes, and coastal waters economy today. Shipping commodities by water
is time-consuming but relatively inexpensive.
 Oceans, rivers, lakes, and canals are used to carry enormous quantities of raw
materials and finished products throughout the United States as well as to overseas
destinations.

The longest river in the US is the Mississippi with its west tributary of the
Missouri and its east tributary the Ohio River.

The rivers in the west of the country are unsuitable for navigation because they
flow through deep canyons and are cut by numerous rapids. These rivers are full of
water because they get it from the mountains. The largest among them are the
Columbia River and the Colorado River.

The Great Lakes include five inland lakes (Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario,
and Erie). Lake Michigan is the only one of the lakes that is located entirely in the
United States. The other four lakes lie on the border between the United States and
Canada. The Niagara Falls are famous all over the world and attract lots of tourists.

8. Mountains

About half the US' 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. The western part of the country (including almost
the whole of Alaska) is made up of high mountains ranges and tablelands of the
Cordillera system.

The Cordilleras consist of rows of mountain ranges with the heights of up 3000-
5000 m. The highest peak of the USA is Mount McKinley (6193 m.).

The central part of the Cordillera system is called the Rockies or Rocky
mountains. The range cover more than 4800 kilometers. The highest mountain is
Mount Elbert in Colorado which is 4402 meters high.

9. Mineral Resources

The US has large deposits of coal, iron ore, natural gas which are vital to the
country's industrial strength. Its many other important minerals include copper, gold,
lead, silver. To meet its needs, however, the USA must import additional amounts of
iron ore and other minerals.

So, the USA is a country of great diversity. The differences are partly a result of
the geography. One cannot generalize about the weather, the landscape or even the
way of living because the nation occupies half of the American continent. Here can
be found high mountains and the flattest prairie areas, tropical heat (Hawaii,
California, Florida) and arctic cold (Alaska), fertile valleys (Californian valley) and
desert areas (the Saltlake desert).