THE USA

COUNTRY AND PEOPLE

There are fifty states in the
United States of America. Two of
these states, Alaska and Hawaii,
are not connected to the other
states. The US is washed by the
Pacific Ocean in the west, by the
Atlantic Ocean in the east, by the
Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico in the south.
The United States is a large country
with many different natural
wonders. The US has almost every
kind of weather. Also, it has many
kinds of land – rocky coasts, dry
empty deserts, powerful rivers, wide
plains and grasslands, lakes of all
sizes, high mountains, great forests,
sunny beaches, and lands of endless
winter.
The country is very big, so there
is still a lot of open space and
natural scenery outside the
cities. Americans have tried to
save many of the most beautiful
wild areas. There are a lot of
parks, forests and wildlands
where you can enjoy the beauty
and power of wild America.
The Grand Canyon
Yosemite Valley
Yellow Stone
Many rivers cross the United States.
But the greatest is the mighty
Mississippi. Native Americans called
it “the father of waters”. It begins
quietly in the north of the country
and ends in the Gulf of Mexico. On its
journey to the sea, the Mississippi
travels through several states, and
becomes more powerful, it brings
water to farmlands.
And the Mississippi has been an
important waterway since early
times, when native Americans
travelled on the river in canoes.
Among other big rivers are the
Colorado and the Missouri. The
Colorado river rises in the Rocky
Mountains that stretch from Alaska
down almost to the south if the
country.
The Colorado river
The Missouri river
The Grand Canyon is one of
America’s main tourist
attractions. It is so big that you
must go there yourself to feel its
true size and beauty. The
Colorado River formed the Grand
Canyon. Slowly, the river cut down
hard rock. Today, the canyon is
one mile deep and 277 miles long.
It’s interesting that there are
different kinds of plants and
animals on opposite sides of
the canyon. The south side is
dry and desert country. The
north side has tall forests.
The canyon looks different at
different times of day, and in
different seasons and weather.
At sunrise and sunset the red,
gold, brown, and orange colors
of the rocks are especially clear
and bright. In winter, the canyon
is partly covered with snow.
You can walk down into the
Grand Canyon, or you can go
down on the back of a mule.
But be careful to carry enough
water because inside the
canyon, it is very hot – much
hotter than at the top.
The United States is a young
country. Its written history is
only a few hundred years old. It
sometimes is called the “New
World”. Over last four hundred
years millions of people have
come to start a new life in this
“New World”.
Americans are not afraid of
new ideas. They built the first
skyscrapers and they put the
first man on the Moon. They
like to be modern. They like
exciting, modern cities, new
houses, and new cars.
At the same time, Americans
love old things. They like to visit
historic houses and museums.
They build old pioneer houses
and remember the days of the
“Wild West”. Americans are
interested in old traditions, but
they are good at making new
traditions too.
The people of the United States
are a mixture of many different
nationalities. Every American
schoolchild learns that the United
States is the big “melting pot” of
countries. In a melting pot,
different metals are melted
together to make a new metal.
The United States is like a melting
pot for people. In the past, people
from many different European
countries came to the US and made
one country out of many. In one city
you can find people whose parents,
grandparents or great-
grandparents came from China,
Africa, South America, Southeast
Asia, and Europe.
These different people brought
to their new land a wonderful
mixture of customs and
traditions. The Germans
brought Christmas trees. The
Irish brought St. Patrick’s Day
celebrations. The Scots brought
Hallowe’en.
The changing face of America